ENCYCLOPiEDIAMETROPOLITANA'

oR,

ON • METHODIC•L pLAN

•PROJECTED
BY SAMUELTAYLORCOLERIDGE.

SECOND EDtTION_ RE_qSED.

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

R_PRINTED FROM THE O_GI_I_L EDITION,

 :. "2 :,!

POLITICAL ECONOMY.

BY

_ASSAUWILLIAMSENIOR,ESQ.,
L_TE -PROFE_O_ OY POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE US_/%'EESITY OF OXFORD.

TII1RD ED1TIO.N.

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ISNDO__ AND GLASGOV?:

RICHAR.D GRIFFIN" AN_)"C, OMPANY.

PVBLISHFR_'Tn THE U-'IVEI_SIT_O" GLASGO_

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 GLASGOW:

PEI_TED BY BELL AND BAIN_ ST. ENOCH SQUARE.

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 CONT EN TS.

PA@E
POLITICAL ECONOMY DEFINED AS, THE SCIENCE WHICH TREATS OS_ THE
NATURE D THE PRODUCTION, AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF WF, ALTH, l

NATURE OF WEALTH.

WEALT_ defined, as comprehending all those things, and those things

only, which are Transferable, ]Limited in Svpply, and directly or
indirectly productive of pleasure or preventive of pain, or, to use an
equivalent expression, which are susceptible of ".Exchange, or, to use a
third equivalent expression, which have Value, .... 6
Constituents of W_TH:
L Utility, . 6
2. LimitatiOn in Supply, 7
3. Transferableness, . . • 8
Limitation in Supply the most important_ . . . 1!
VALUta defined as, The quahty in any thing which fits it to be given and
received in .Exchange, .... 13
The intrinsic causes of the Value of a commodity defined as, Those whic]_
give to it Utility and Limit it in Supply, . .
The extrinsic a_%Those which Limit the Supply and occasion the Utility 16
of the commodities for which it is to be exchanged, . . 16
Steadiness in Value depends on the permanence of the intrinsic causes
of value, 20
Objections to the I)efiuitio'n of Wealth c°nsidered' . 22

STATEMENT OF THE FOUR ELEMENTARY PROPOSITIONS

OF THE SCIENCE :--
1. That every man desires to obtain additional Wsulth with as little
sacrifice as possible.
2. That the Population of the world_ or, in other words, the number of
persons inhabiting it, is limited only by moral and phyaical evi4 or
by fear of a deficiency of those articles of wealth which the habits
of _e individuals of each class of its inhabitants lead them to
requm'e.
3. That the Powers of Labour, and of the other Instruments which
Produce ]_ealth, may be indefinitely increased by using their
products as the n_eans of.further production.
4. Tha_ agricultural skill remaining the sam_ additional Labour
employed on the land within a 9iven &'strict produces in general a
less proportionate return, or, in other words, that though_with every
increase of the labour bestowed, the aggregate return is increased,
the increase of the return is not in proportion to the increase of the
labour, 26
 vi
CONTENTS.

Development
Desire of Wealth,
of the First Elementary Proposition, namely, the General Pac_
• " " " . _7
Development
which Limit of the Second Elementary Proposition, namely, the Causes
Population,
• " " " • 30
Development of the Third Elementary Proposition, namely, '
Production defined as the occasioning an alteration in the condition
existing particles of matter, for the oceasionin o wh" of the
the thin s the " " • 9 f zchalteration or for
alteration
g is anee
Product,
resu/tzng,. sometlang may be obtained in _xehauge' This

Products divided into Services anal Commodities." A Service is the act o'f 50
as altered, the above mentiond alteration.
occasioning A Commodity is the thing
Con,umption
defin&usthe"_king'.se
ofa th,;,g." : : • 51
Producible Consumpttbn defined as that use of a'produet which occa_ons an 53
uIterior product. Unproductive Consumotion as that use which occasions
no ulterior product,
I/qSTRUMENTS .
OFPRODUCTION 1__. ._ . . . . 54
Primary: 1. Labour: 2. Natural Agents:_
(.D 1. Za_r defined as the voluntary exertion of bodil_ or " .• 57
l ftr thepurpose of Production, . . _ mental faculties
2. atura! Agents defined as those t_roductive A-e_ , ." • 57
derive thew powers frmn man, _ .ots wh_ch do not
Seconda_. : Abstinence. 58

3. Third and secondary Instrument of Production. Abstinence

defined as tim conduct of a person who either abstains from the
unproductive use of what he can command, or des(qnedly prefers
the produchon of remote, to that of immediate results,"
Abstinence, combined with one or both of the other . • • 58
Production, occasions the existeno_ ,_ o-- _two. Instruments of
araele of Brealth the result of human"-' "_ ._rrAL" ,cap, ztal defined as an
or l)_strioution
_. , of Wealth, :l exeraon, empto_ea in the P_ oduction
• , o .
Different modes in which Capitalmav be emoloved, . 59
Statement
1. TheofUseLheof
advantages
Implements,derived'from the use ofC_p;tal°
-- " . 60

2. The Division of Labour, : : : " - • 67

Development of the Fourth
namely, Additional Labour whenElementary
employedProposition
in M of the Science, 73
when emnlo_ea ;- a_.:__T. _ . , _. . anufactures is more,
-' _ "_ ._,_.,-,utture is tess_ emclent in proportion, . 81

DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.

Society divided into three classes, Zabourers, Ca italis .

_w_,uuv_, anQ a alr_erent tgemuneration, . --..._n_ a alIrerent

Nomenclature applicable to the first class, the Labourers." ' • 88
Nomenclature applicable to the second class, the Caplta'llsts 89
.agent_, applicable
:Nomenclature . to the third class, the Pr opt ietors Of'.'Va_& 89
]_XCHAIqGE, 89

Costofto_roduc_'on
gary Production,he_ned'_
. theA,,,,
of d__M,,. and Abstinence
". • ne_ 95
Divided into Cost of Production on the t_art of ihe _r_ucer, aud Cost 97
of Production on the part of the Consumer, . . . .
These are the same, unless the Production he subject to a Mono_oly_ 103
101
 CONTENTS. vii
rAGE

Monopolies divided into four kinds :

1. A Monopoly under which the Monopolist has not the exclusive
power of Producing, but exclusive facilities as a Producer,
which may be employed indefinitely with equal or increasing
advantage, ..... 103
2. A Monopoly under which the Monopolist is the only Producer,
and cannot increase the amount of his Produce, . . 104
3. A Monopoly under which the Monopolist is the only Producer,
and can increase indefinitely with equal or increasing advan-
tage the amount of his Produce, .... I05
4. A Monopoly under which the Monopolist is not the only Pro-
ducer, but has peculiar facilities which diminish and ultimately
disappear as he increases the amount of his produce, . 105
The last is the great Monopoly of Land, 105
:Effects of the Cost of Production on Pricey 111
Effects of Monopolies on Price, . ..... 114
Consequences of the proposition that additional Labour when employed
in Manufactures is more_ and when employed in Agriculture is less,
efficient in proportion.
I. Different effects of increased Demand on the Prices of Manufactured,
and of Raw_ Produce, ....
II. Different effects of Taxation on the Prices of Manufactured, and of 119
Raw produce, . . . 120
•_Discussion
Wages, whether . certain . Revenues
. ought
. to be. called _ent,
. lgrofit, or '128
• Causes on which the proportionate amount of Rent depends, . . 135
"_-Proportionate Amounts of Profit and Wages ..... 139
_t Discussion of the circumstances which decide what, at a given time and
in a given place, shall be the average rate of Wages and the average
-- rate of Profit, ....... 141
Meaning of the words high and low as applied to Wages, . 141
Difference between the Amount of Wages and the _Pr/ce of Labowr, . 149
Proximate cause deciding the Rate of Wages stated to be the extent of
the Fund for the ._Iaintenance of Labourers compared with the Number
of Labourers to be maintained, .... 153
Discussion of seven opinions inconsistent with this proposition :--
1. The doctrine that the Rate of Wages depends solely on the pro-
portion which the number of Labourers bears to the amount of
Capital
2. The in the
doctrine thatCountry, .... the proportion borne b y the"
Wages depend on 154
number of Labourers to the whole Revenue of the society of
which they are members, ..... 154
3. The doctrine that the Non-residence of unproductive Consumers
can he detrimental to the Labouring inhabitants of a Country
which does not export raw produce, .... 155
4. The doctrine that the general rate of Wages can, except in two
cases, be diminished by the introduction of Machinery, 162
5. The doctrine that the general rate of Wages can be reduced by
the Importation of Foreign Commodities, • 168
6. The doctrine that the Unproductive Consumption of Landlords
and Capitalists is beneficial to the Labouring classes because
it furnishes them with employment+ . • . . 169
7. The doctrine that it is more beneficial to the Labouring Classes
tO be employed in the production of Services than in the
production of Commodities, . +" . . . . 170
 viii CONTENTS.
PAG_
Statement of the causes on which the extent of the Fund for the Main.
tenance of Labourers really depends. I. The productiveness of labour
in the direct or indirect production of the commodities used by the
labourers. 2. The number of persons directly or indirectly" employed
in the production of things for the use of labourers compared with the
whole number of labouring families, . . . . 173
I. Causes on which the Productiveness of Labour depends :--
I. The corporeal, intellectual and moral Qualities of the Labourer, 175
2. The assistance of Natural Agents, 175
3. The assistance of Capital, .... 176
4. The existence or the absence of Government interference, • 176
IL Causes which divert Labour from the production of Commodities for
the use of Labouring families :--
1. Rent, 180
2. Taxation, ....... 182
3. Profit, ....... 185
,Profit consists of the difference between the value of the Advance made
1 by the Capitalist and the value of the Return, . . . 185
How that value should be estimated, ..... 185
I The facts which decide in what proportion the Capitalists and Labourers
share the Common Fund after the deduction of Rent and Taxation
stated to be two : first, the general rate of Troj_t in the Country on the
advance of capital for a given period; and, secondly, the period which
in eachparticular case has elapsed between the advance of the capital and
the reeeipt of the proj_t, . ..... 185
Cause regulating the Rate of Profit ascertained to be the proportion which
the supply of Capital employed in providing Wages bears to the supply of
Labourers, ...... * . 193
Causes regulating the period of Advance of Capital incapable of a
general statement, .....
Capitalists and Labourers interested in the period of Advance o(Capital 194
only so far as they are Consumers, . .... 196
Causes of variation in the Amount of Wages and the Rate of Profits in
different employments of Labour and Capital assigned by Adam
_. Smith :--
1. Agreeableness, . 200
2. :Facility of learning the business, 204
3. Constancy of employment, 207
4. Trustworthiness, . 208
5. Probability of success, ....
Yariations occasioned by the difficulty of Transferring Labour anti 208
Capital from one employment to another, 217
From one country to another, 220
 POLITICAL ECONOMY.

INTRODUCTION.'

Definition of the Seiellce.--We propose in the following Treatise to

give an outline of the Science which treats of the :Nature, the Produc-
tion, and the Distribution of Wealth. To that Science we give the
name of Political Economy. Our readers must be aware that that
term has often boon used in a much wider sense. The earlier writers
who assumed the name of Political Economists avowedly treated not
of Wealth but of Government. Mercier do la Riviere entitled his
Work The Na_:ural and Essential Organization of _%cizty, and professed
to propose an organization "which shall necessarily produce all the
happiness that can be enjoyed on earth. TM Sir James Steuart states,
that "the principal object of the Science is to secure a certain fund
of subsistence for all the inhabitants, to obviate every circumstance
which may render it precarious, and to provide everything necessary
for supplying the wants of the society. ''2 The modern continental
writers have in general entered into an equally extensive inquiry.
" Political Economy." says M. Storch, "is the Science of the natural
laws which determine the prosperity of nations, that is to say, their
wealth and their civilization. ''_ M. Sismondi considers "the physical
welfare of man, so far as it can be the work of government, as the
object of Political Economy. TM "Political Economy," says M. Say,
"is the economy of society; a Science combining the results of our
observations on the nature and functions of the different parts of the
social body. "_ The modern writers of the English school have in
general professed to limit their attention to the theory of Wealth; but
some of the most eminent among them, after having expressed their in-
tention to confine themselves within what appears to us to be their proper
province, have invaded that of the general legislator or the statesman.
Thus Mr. M'Culloch, after having defined Political Economy to be
"the Science of the laws which regulate the production, accumulation,
distribution, and consumption of those articles or products that are
necessarily useful or agreeable to man, and possess exetmugtmble

l D_eo_a, Prdl_ndnaire,liv. vi. _ Noutea_ P_/_s d'_/M/i-

IVoL L p. 2. qu*,liv. Lch. ii.
STem.I. p. 21. _ Cotw8ComplY,Tom.L pp. 1, 2.
B
2 INTRODUCTION.

value ''_ or, "the Science of Values;" adds, that "its object is to
point out the means by which the industry of man may be rendered
most productive of wealth, to ascertain the circumstances most favour-
able to its accumulation, the proportions in which it is divided, and
the mode in which it may be most advantageously consumed.";
l, imlt_ afthe _cience.--It iS impossible to overstate the importance
of these inquiries, and it is not easy to state their extent. _ They
involve, as their general premises, the consideration of the whole
theory of morals of government, and of civil and criminal legislation;
and, for their particular premises, a knowledge of all the facts which
affect the social condition of every community whoso conduct the
Economist proposes to influence. We believe that such inquiries far
exceed the bounds of any single Treatise, and indeed the powers of
any single mind. We believe that by confining our own and the
reader's attention to the Nature, Production, and Distribution of
Wealth, we shall produce a more clear, and complete, and instructive
work than if we allowed ourselves to wander into the more interesting
and more important, but far less definite, fields by which the com-
paratively narrow path of Political Economy is surrounded. The
questions, To what extent and under what circumstances the possession
of Wealth is, on the whole, beneficial or injurious to its possessor, or
to the society of which he is a member? What distribution of Wealth
is most desirable in each different state of society? and What are the
means by which any given Country can facilitate such a distribution?
--all these are questions of great interest and difficulty, but no more
form part of the Science of Political Economy, in the sense in which
we use that term, than Navigation forms part of the Science of
Astronomy. The principles supplied by Political Economy are indeed
necessary elements in their solution, but they are not the ofily, or
even the most important elements. The writer who pursues such
investigations is in fact engaged on the great Science of legislation;
a Science which requires a knowledge of the general principles sup-
plied by Political Economy, but differs from it essentially in its subject,
its premises, and its conclusions. Tim subject of legislation is not
Wealth, but human Welfare. Its premises are drawn from an infinite
variety of phenomena, supported by evidence of every degree of
strength, and authorizing conclusions deserving every degree of assent,
from perfect confidence to bare suspicion. And its expounder is
enabled, and even required, not merely to state general facts, but to
urge the adoption or rejection of actual measures or trains of action.
On the other hand, the subject treated by the Political Economist,
using that term in the limited sense in which we apply it, is not Hap-
piness, but Wealth; his premises consist of a very few general proposi-
tions, the result of observation, or consciousness, and scarcely requiring

6 Principles,&e.p. 1. _ Ibid. p. 8.
 INTRODUCTION. 3

proof, or even formal s_atement, which almost every man, as soon as

he hears them, admits as familiar to his thoughts, or at least as
included in his previous knowledge; and his inferences are nearly as
general, and, if he has reasoned correctly, as certain, as his premises.
Those which relate to the Nature and the Production of Wealth are
vae_ally true; and though those which relate to the Distribution of
ltb are liable to be affected by the peculiar institutions of parti-
cular Countries, in the cases for instance of slaver)', legal monopolies,
or poor laws, the natural state of things can be laid down as the
general rule, and the anomalies produced by particular disturbing
causes can be afterwards accounted for. But his conclusions, what-
ever be their generality and their truth, do not authorize him in
adding a single syllable of advice. That privilege belongs to the
writer or the statesman who has co_sidered all the causes which may
promote or impede the general welfare of those whom he addresses.
not to the theorist who has considered only one, though among the
most important, of those causes. The business of a Political Econo-
mist is neither to recommend nor to dissuade, hut to state general prin-
ciples, which it is fatal to neglect, but neither advisable, nor perhaps
practicable, to use as the sole, or even the principal, guides in the
actual conduct of affairs. In the meantime the duty of each individual
writer is clear. Employed as he is upon a Science in which error or
even ignorance may be productive of such intense and such extensive
mischief, he is bound, like a juryman, to give deliverance true accord-
ing to the evidence, and allow neither sympathy with indigence, nor
disgust at profusion or at avarice--neither reverence for existing insti-
tutions, nor detestation of existing abuses--neither love of popularity,
nor of paradox, nor of system, to deter him from stating what he
believes to be the facts, or from drawing from those facts what appear
to him to be the legitimate conclusions. To decide in each case how
far those conclusions are to be acted upon, belongs to the art of
government, an art to which Political Economy is only one of many
subservient Sciences; which involves the consideration of motives, of
which the desire for Wealth is only one among many, and aims at
objects to which the possession of Wealth is only a subordinate means.
The confounding Political Economy with the Sciences and Arts to
which it is subservient, has been one of the principal obstacles to its
improvement. It has acted thus in two different modes:--
First, by exciting in the public unfavourable prejudices.
And, secondly, by misleading Economists, both with respect to the
object of their Science and the means of attaining it.
With respect to the first of these obstacles, it has often been made
a matter of grave complaint against Political Economists, that they
confine their attention to Wealth, and disregard all consideration of
Happiness or Virtue. It is to be wished that this complaint were
better founded; but its general existence implies an opinion that it is
4 INTRODUCTION.

the businessof Political Economistsnot merely to stateproposi-

tions,but torecommend actualmeasures;foron no othersupposition
couldtheybe blamedforconfining theirattentiontoa singlesubject.
No one blames a writerupon tactics forconfining hisattention to
militaryaffairs,or,from his doingso,infersthathe recommends
perpetual war. It must be admittedthat an authorwho, having
statedthat a givenconductisproductive ofWealth,should, on t_at
accountalone, recommend it, orassumethat, on thataccountalone,it
oughttobe pursued, wouldbe guilty oftheabsurdity ofimplying that
Happinessand thepossession ofWealth areidentical. But hiserror
would consistnot in confining hisattention toWealth,but in con-
foundingWealth withHappiness. Supposingthaterror, and itisa
veryobviousone,to be avoided,the more strictly a writerconfines
hisattention to hisown Scicnce_ themore likelyhe is to extendits
hounds.
Secondly, The confounding theScienceof PoliticalEconomy with
theSciencesand Arts towhich itis subservient, hasseducedEcono-
mists sometimesto undertakeinquiries too vague to leadto any
practicalresults,and sometimesto pursuethe legitimate objectsof
theScienceby means unfitfortheirattainment.To theirextended
viewoftheobjects ofPolitical Economy istobe attributed theundue
importancewhichmany Economistshave ascribed tothecollectionof
facts,and theirneglectofthefarmore important processofreasoning
accuratelyfrom thefactsbeforethem. We areconstantly toldthat
itisa Scienceoffactsand experiment, a Scienceavidedefairs.The
practical
applicationsofit,likethepracticalapplications
ofeveryother
Science,withoutdoubt,requirethe collection and examinationof
factstoan almostindefinite extent. The factscollected as materials
fortheamendment of thepoor-laws, and theopeningofthetradeto
China,fillmore than twiceas many volumesas couldbe occupied by
alltheTreatises that have everbeenwrittenon Political Economy;
but thefactson which thegeneralprinciples oftheSciencerestmay
be statedina veryfew sentences, and indeedina veryfew words.But
that the reasoningfrom thesefacts, thedrawingfrom them correct
conclusions,isa matterof greatdifficulty, may be inferredfrom the
imperfectstateinwhich theScienceisnow foundafter ithas beenso
longand sointensely studied.
Thisdii_culty arisespartlyfromthe extremelycomplicated nature
ofthesubjects whichitinvestigates,and theconsequent ab}_tractness
and generalityof itsterms. A description, ifitwerepossible, of all
thedifferentthingswhich aredesignated by theword " Wealth,"or
evenby the lesscomprehensive word " Capital,"wouldfill an Ency-
clopaedia.It arisespartly,also,from the circumstance, thatthe
termswhich we are forcedtouseas signsfortheseabstractions are
taken from ordinary language,commonly used insensestoowideor
toonarrowforscientific purposes.In thecase, therefore,bothofthe
 INTRODUCTION. 5

writer and of the reader, they are often associated with ideas which
are intended to be excluded, or separated from ideas which are meant
to be comprehended. Thus, in ordinary language, the word Capital
is sometimes used as comprehending every species of Wealth, and
sometimes as confined to Money.
If Economists had been aware that the Science depends more on
reasoning than on observation, and that its principal difficulty consists
not in the ascertainment of its facts, but in the use of its terms, we
cannot doubt that their principal efforts would have been directed to
the selection and consistent use of an accurate nomenclature. So far
is this from having been the case, that it is only within a very short
period that serious attention has been given to its nomenclature. The
Wealth o/Nations contains scarcely a definition: most of the modern
French writers, and some indeed of our own, have not only neglected
definitions, but have expressly reprobated their use; and the English
Work which has attracted the most attention during the present
century, Mr. Ricardo's Principles of Political Economy, is deformed
by a use of words so unexplained, and yet so remote from ordinary
usage, and from that of other writers on the same subject, and fre-
quently so inconsistent, as to perplex every reader, and not unfre-
quently to have misled the eminent writer himself. We do not
complain of all his innovations in language: such innovations are, for
scientific purposes, fi-equently indispensable, and we shall be forced to
make many ourselves. What we do complain of is, that his innova-
tions, such, for instance, as the substitution of the word Value for
Cost, are frequently unnecessary, and are almost always made without
any warning to his readers; and that the same words, such, for
example, as the adjectives high and low, when applied to wages, are
used by him sometimes in their popular sense, as expressing an
amount, and sometimes in a technical sense of his own, as expressing
a proportion.
Our object in these remarks has been not only to account for the
slow progress which has as yet been made by Pohtieal Economy, and
to suggest means by which its advancement may be accelerated, but
also to warn the reader of the nature of the following Treatise. He
will find it consist, in a great degree, of discussions as to the most
convenient use of a few familiar words. Such discussions it is im-
possible to render amusing, but we trust that they will be useful, by
directing his attention to the great difficulties of the Science, though
he may often disapprove our classification or nomenclature.
 NATURE OF WEALTH.

Wealth De¢med.mHaving stated that the Science which we propose

to consider, and to which we apply the term Political Economy, is the
Science which treats of the Nature, the Production, and the Distribu-
tion of Wealth, our first business is to explain the meaning in which
we use the word Wealth.
Under that term we comprehend all those things, and those
things only, which are transferable, are limited in supply, and are
directly or indirectly productive of pleasure or preventive of pain; or,
• to use an equivalent expression, which are susceptible of exchange;
(using the word exchange to denote hiring as well as absolute pur-
chase;) or, to use a third equivalent expression, which have Value:
a word which, in a subsequent portion of this Treatise, we shall
explain at some length, merely premising at present that we use it
in its popular sense, as denoting the capacity of being given and
received in exchange.
CONSTITU_I_TS
OFW_AL_H.

]. Utllity.--Of the three qualities which render anything an article

_,f Wealth, or, in other words, give it value, the most striking is the
power, direct or indirect, of producing pleasure, including under that
term gratification of every kind, or of preventing pain, including under
that term every species of discomfort. Unfortunately, we have no
word which precisely expresses this power; utility, which comes
nearest to it, being generally used to express the quality of preventing
pain or of indirectly producing pleasure, as a means. We shall
venture to extend the signification of that word, and consider it as
also including all those things which produce pleasure directly. We
must admit that this is a considerable ilmovation in English language.
It is, however, sanctioned by Mr. Malthus, (.Definitions, p. 234,) and
has been ventured by M. Say in :French, a language less patient of
innovation than our own. Feeling the same difficulty, he has solved
it in the same way by using the term ut///td as comprehending every
quality that renders anything an object of desire. Attractiveness
and desirab]eness have both been suggested to us as substitutes, but
on the whole they appear to us more objectionable than utd/ity,
objectionable as we must admit that word to be.
Utility, thus explained, is a necessary constituent of value; no
man would give anything possessing the slightest utility for a thing
 NATURE OF WEALTH,

possessing none; and even an exchange of two useless things would

be, on the part of each party to the exchange, an act without a
motive. Utility, however, denotes no intrinsic quality in the things
which we call useful; it merely expresses their relations to the pains
and pleasures of mankind. And, as the susceptibility of pain and
pleasure from particular objects is created and modified by causes
innumerable, and constantly varying, wc find an endless diversity in
the relative utility of different objects to different persons, a diversity
which is the motive of all exchanges.
2. L_itsUion in Sappl_-.--The next constituent of value is limitation
in supply. It may appear inaccurate to apply this expression to any
class of things, as it, in fact, belongs to all; there being nothing
which, strictly speaking, is unlimited in supply. But, for the pur-
poses of Political Economy, everything may be considered as unlimited
in supply in its existing state, of which a man may have as much
as he pleases for the mere trouble of taking it into his possession.
Thus the water of the open sea is, in our use of the term, unlimited
in supply; any man who chooses to go for it may have as much of it
as he pleases: that portion of it which has been brought to London is
limited in supply, and is to be obtained not merely by going to the
reservoir and taking possession of it, but by giving for it an equivalent.
The copper ores which Sir John Franklin discovered on the shores
of the Arctic Seas may be considered, in their existing state, as unlimited
in supply; any man may have as much of them as he has strength
and patience to extract. The extracted portion would be limited in
supply, and therefore susceptible of value. _Iany things are unlimited
iu supply for some purposes, and limited for others. The water in a
river is in general more than sul_eient for all the domestic purposes
for which i: can be required; nobody pays therefore for permission to
take a bucketful: but it is seldom sufficient for all those who may
wish to turn their mills with it; they pay, therefore, for that privilege.
It must be further observed that, for economical purposes, the term
limitation in supply always involves the consideration of the causes by
which the existing supply is limited. The supply of some articles of
Wealth is limited by insurmountable obstacles. The number of
Raphael's pictures, or of Canova's statues, may be diminished, but
cannot possibly be increased. There are others of which the supply
may be increased to an indefinite extent. Such things may be con-
sidered as comparatively limited in supply, in proportion, not to the
existing supply of each, but to the force of the obstacles opposed to
their respective increase. It is supposed that there is now about
forty-five times as much of silver extracted from the mines, and current
in Europe, as there is of gold. Human exertion is the only means by
which the supply of either can be increased, and they may both be
increased by human exertion to an amount of which we do not know
the limit. The obstacle, therefore, by which they are each limited in
8 NATURE OF WEALTH.

supply is, the amount of human exertion necessary to their respective

increase. About sixteen times more exertion is necessary to produce
an ounce of gold than an ounce of silver. The obstacle, therefore,
which limits the supply of gold is sixteen times more powerful than
that which limits the supply of silver. In our sense of the term,
therefore, gold is only sixteen times more limited in supply than silver,
though the actual weight of silver in Europe is forty-five times as
great as that of gold. To take a more familiar example, the number
of coats and waistcoats in England is perhaps about equal. The
supply of each may be increased by human exertion to an indefinite
extent; but it requires about three times as much exertion to produce
a coat as to produce a waistcoat. As the obstacle, therefore, which
limits the supply of coats is three times as forcible as that which limits
the sllpply of waistcoats, we consider coats three times more limited
in supply than waistcoats, though the existing supply of each may
perhaps be equal. Whenever, therefore, we apply the words llmi_d
in _'upply, as a comparative expression, to those commodities of which
the quantity can be increased, we refer to the comparative force of
the obstacles which limit the respective supplies of the objects
compared.
3. TransCerableue_s.--The third and last quality which a thing
must possess to constitute it an article of Wealth, or, in other words,
to give it value, is Transferableness, by which term (we are sorry to
say, an unusual one) we mean to express that all or some portion of
its powers of giving pleasure, or preventing pain, are capable of being
transferred, either absolutely, or for a period. For this purpose it is
obvious that it must be capable of appropriation; since no man can
give what he cannot refuse. The sources of pleasure and preventives
of pain which are absolutely incapable of appropriation are very few.
We almost doubt whether there are any, and we are sure that the
instances which are usually given are incorrect. " The earth,"
observes M. Say, Econ. Pol. Lie. it. Ch. ix. "is not the only material
agent with productive power, but it is the only one, or nearly so, that
can he appropriated. The water of rivers and of the sea, which sup-
plies us with fish, gives motion to our mills, and supports our vessels,
has productive powers. The wind gives us force, and the sun heat,
but happily no man can say, ' The wind and the sun belong to me,
and I will be paid for their services.'" Now, in fact, air and sunshine
are local. This is so obvious that it would be absurd to prove, by
serious induction, that some situations have too much wind, and others
too little, or that the sun's rays are more powerful productive agents
in England than in Melville Island, or in the Tropics than in England.
And as the land is everywhere capable of appropriation, the qualities
of climate, which are attributes of that land, must be so too. What
gives their principal value to the vineyards of the CSte Rotie, but the
warmth of their sun ? or to the houses which overlook Hyde Park,
 NATURE OF WEALTH. 9

but the purity of their air ? Rivers and the sea are equally unfortu-
nate illustrations. Many of the rivers of England are not less strictly
appropriated, and are f'ar greater sources of wealth, than any equal
superficies of land. When M. Say visited Lancashire, he must have
found every inch of fall in every stream the subject of lease aud pur-
chase. And so far are the services of the sea from being incapable of
appropriation, that, during the late war, £60,000 was sometimes paid
for a license to make use of it for a single voyage; and the privilege
of fishing in particular parts of it has been the subject of wars and
treaties.
The things of which the utility is imperfectly transferable may be
divided into two great classes. The first comprises all those material
objects which are affected by the peculiar mental associations, or
adapted to the peculiar wants, of individuals. A mansion may flatter
the pride of its owner as having been the residence of his ancestors,
or he endeared to him as the scene of his childhood; or he may have
built it in a form which pleases no eye, or laid it out in apartments
that suit no habits but his own. Still his substantial powers of afford-
ing warmth and shelter will obtain him purchasers or tenants, though
they may demand a reduction from the price in consequence of those
very qualities which, with him, formed its principal merits. The
palace of St. James's is full of comfort and convenience, and would
supply a man of large fortune with an excellent residence; but the
long suite of apartments within apartments, which is admirably adapted
to holding a Court, would be a mere incumbrance to any but a royal
personage. Any individual might hire Alnwiek or Blenheim, and
enjoy their mere beauty and magnificence, perhaps, more thml their
owners who have been long familiarized to them; but he could never
feel the peculiar pleasure whieh they seem fitted to give to a Percy
and a Churehhill. There are many things, such as clothes and furni-
ture, which sink in utility in the estimation of every one but their
purchaser, from the mere fact of having changed hands. A hat or a
table which has been just sent home does not appear to the purchaser
less useful than when he saw it in the shop; but if he attempt to resell
either, he will find that with the rest of the world it has sunk into the
degraded rank of second-hand.
The second class of things imperfectly transferable includes the
greater part, perhaps all, of our p_.rsonal qualities. This classification,
wla:mhplaces talents and accomplishments among the articles of wealth,
may appear at first sight strange and inconvenient; it certainly is
d_t from that of most Economists. We will therefore venture to
ill_trate it more fully.
Health, strength, and knowledge, and the other natural and
acquired powers of body and mind, appear to us to be articles of
wealth, precisely analogous to a residence having some qualities that
are universally useful, and others peculiarly adapted to the tastes of
10 NATURE OF WEALTH.

its owner. They are limited in supply, and are causes of pleasure
and preventives of pain far more effectual than the possession of
Alnwick or of Blenheim. A portion of the advantages which arise
from them are inseparably annexed to their possessor, like the asso-
ciations of an hereditary property: another portion, and often a very
large one, is as transferable as the palpable convenience of the mansion,
or beauty of the gardens. What cannot be transferred are the
temporary pleasure which generally accompanies the exercise of any
accomplishment, and the habitual satisfaction arising from the con-
sciousness of possessing it. What can be transferred are the beneficial
results which follow from its having been employed during the period
for which its services have been hired. If an Erskine or a Sugden
undertakes my cause, he transfers to me, for that occasion, the use of
all his natural and acquired ability. My defence is as well conducted
as if I had myself the knowledge and the eloquence of an accomplished
advocate. What he cannot transfer is the pleasure which he feels in
the exercise of his dexterity; but how small is his pleasure compared
to mine, if he succeeds for me] A passenger may envy the activity
and intrepidity of the crew; they cannot actually implant in h_m their
strength, or their insensibility to danger; but so far as these qualities
are means towards an end, so far as they enable him to perform his
voyage with quickness and safety, he enjoys the use of them as fully
as if they belonged to himself. A hunter probably feels somewhat
the same sort of pleasure in the chase which Erskine felt in court;
and this pleasure cannot he transferred any more than his muscles or
his lungs; but, so far as his strength, speed, and bottom are means
towards the end of enabling his rider to keep up with the hounds,
they can be purchased or hired as effectually as his bridle or saddle.
In the greater part of the world a man is as purchasable as a horse.
In such Countries the only difference in value between a slave and a
brute consists in the degree in which they respectively possess the
saleable qualities that we have been considering. If the question
whether personal qualities are articles of wealth had been proposed in
classical times, it would have appeared too clear for discussion. In
Athens, every one would have replied that they, in fact, constituted
the whole value of an _¢_xo_ _7_,_o_. The only differences in this
respect between a freeman and a slave are, first, that the freeman
sells himsdf, and only for a period, and to a certain extent: the slave
may be sold by others, and absolutely; and, secondly, that the personal
qualities of the slave are a portion of the wealth of his master; those
of the freeman, so far as they can be made the subject of exchange,
are a part of his own wealth. They perish indeed by his death, and
may be impaired or destroyed by disease, or rendered valueless by any
changes in the customs of the Country which shall destroy the demand
for his services; but, subject to these contingencies, they are wealth,
and wealth of the most valuable kind. The amount of revenue derived
 NATURE OF WEALTH. ]1

from their exercise in England far exceeds the rental of all the lands
in Great Britain.
Limitation in Nupplythe morn lmlmrtnnt.--0f the three conditions of
value, utility, transferableness, and limitation in supply, the last is by
far the most important. The chief sources of its influence on value
are two of the most powerful principles of human nature, the love of
variety, and the love of distinction. The mere necessaries of life are
few and simple. Potatoes, water, and salt, simple raiment, a blanket,
a hut, an iron pot, and the materials of firing, are sufficient to support
mere animal existence in this climate: they do, in fact, support the
existence of the greater part of the inhabitants of Ireland; and in
warmer countries much less will suffice. :But no man is satisfied with
so limited a range of enjoyment. His first object is to vary his food;
but this desire, though urgent at first, is more easily satisfied than any
other, except perhaps that of dress. Our ancestors, long after they
had indulged in considerable luxury in other respects, seem to have
been contented with a very uniform though grossly abundant diet.
And even now, notwithstanding the common declamation on the
luxury of the table, we shall find that most persons, including even
those whose appetites are not controlled by frugality, confine their
principal solid food but to a few articles, and their liquids to still
fewer.

The next desire is variety of dress; a taste which has this peculi-
arity, that, though it is one of the first symptoms that a people is
emerging from the brutishness of the lowest savage life, it quickly
reaches its highest point, and, in the subsequent progress of refine-
ment, in one sex at least, diminishes until even the highest ranks
assume an almost quaker-like simplicity.
Last comes the desire to build, to ornament, and to furnish: tastes
which are absolutely insatiable where they exist, and seem to increase
with every improvement in civilization. The comforts and conveniences
which we now expect in an ordinary lodging, are mere than were
enjoyed by people of opulence a century ago: and even a century ago
a respectable tradesman would have been dissatisfied if his bed-room
had been no better furnished than that of Henry VIII., which con-
tained, we are told, only a bed, a cupboard of plate, a joint-stool, a
pair of andirons, and a small mirror. 8 And yet Henry was among the
richest and the most magnificent sovereigns of his times. Our great
grand-children perhaps will despise the accommodations of the present
Age, and their poverty may, in turn, be pitied by their successors.
It is obvious, however, that our desires do not aim so much at
wqUhiantityas at diversity. :Not only are there limits to the pleasure
eh commodities of any given class can afford, but the pleasure
dimlni_hes in a rapidly increasing ratio long before those limits are

Henry,lYiaery of GreatBritain, Bookvi.Ch. vii.

]2 lqATURE OF WEALTH.

reached. Two articles of the same kind will seldom afford twice the
pleasure of one, and still less will ten give five times the pleasure of
two. In proportion, therefore, as any article is abundant, the number
of those who are provided with it, and do not wish, or wish but little,
to increase their provision, is likely to be great; and, so far as they
are concerned, the additional supply loses all, or nearly all, its utility.
And in proportion to its scarcity the number of those who are in want
of it, and the degree in which they want it, are likely to be increased;
and its utility, or, in other words, the pleasure which the possession of
a given quantity of it will afford, increases proportionally.
But strong as is the desire for variety, it is weak compared with the
desire for distinction: a feeling which, if we consider its universality
and its constancy, that it affects all men and at all times, that it comes
with us from the cradle, and never leaves us till we go into the grave,
may be pronounced to be the most powerful of human passions.
The most obvious source of distinction is the possession of superior
wealth. It is the one which excites most the admiration of the bulk
of mankind, and the only one which they feel capable of attaining. To
seem more rich, or, to use a common expression, to keep up a better
appearance, than those within their own sphere of comparison, is, with
almost all men who are placed beyond the fear of actual want, the
ruling principle of conduct. For this object they undergo toil which
no pain or pleasure addressed to the senses would lead them to
encounter; into which no slave could be lashed or bribed. But this
object is obtained by appearances, and, indeed, cannot be attained by
anything else. All the gold in the Paetotus, even if the Pactotus
were as rich as when hlidas had just washed in it, would obviously
confer no distinction on the man who was unable to exhibit it. The
only mode by which wealth can be exhibited is, by the apparent
possession of some object of desire which is limited in sup.ply. Mere
limitation of supply, indeed, unless there be some other circumstance
constituting the article in question an object of desire, or, in other
words, giving it utility, is insufficient. This circumstance must be its
having some quality to which some person beside the owner annexes
the notion of utility. The original manuscript of every schoolboy's
exercise is as limited in supply as anything can be, but there is
nothing to make it an object of desire after it has served its purpose
in school. It is merely a blotted manuscript, unique certainly, but
valueless. But if the original manuscript of the Wealth of tVatizns
could be discovered, it would excite an interest throughout Europe.
Curiosity would be eager to trace the first workings of a mind whose
influence will be felt as long as civilized society endures. It might,
perhaps, be purchased by some ignorant collector only for the purposes
of ostentation, but it could not serve even those purposes unte_
recommended by some circumstance beyond mere singularity.
It is impossible, however, to conceive anything more trifling or
 NATURE OF WEALTH. 13

more capricious than the circumstances which may make a thing an

object of desire, and therefore, in our extended use of that word, give
to it utility when its supply is narrowly limited.
The substance which at present is the greatest object of desire, and
of which, therefore, a given quantity will exchange for the greatest
quantity of all other things, is the diamond. A bracelet belonging to
the king of Persia, the stones in which do not weigh two ounces, is
said to be worth a million sterling. Now, a million sterling would
command the whole labour of about thirty thousand English families
for a year. If that labour were employed in producing and reproduc-
ing commodities for the purpose of sale, it would probably give for
ever a clear annual income equal to the labour of three thousand
• families, or twelve thousand individuals. It would place at the disposal
of its owner all the commodities that could be produced by all the
labour of all the inhabitants of a considerable town. And a few pieces
of mineral, not weighing two ounces, capable of gratifying no sense
but the sight, and which any eye would be tired of looking at for a
minute, is invested by our caprice with a value equal to that of the
commodities which would give comfortable support to thousands of
human beings in an advanced state of civilization. Hardness and
brightness must have been the qualities which first attracted notice to
the diamond. They enabled it to please the eye and adorn the person,
and thus associated with it the union of utility. But a diamond
weighing an ounce is not found once in a century; there are not five
such known to exist. The possession of an object of desire so l!mited
in supply soon became one of the most unequivocal proofs of wealth.
And, as to appear rich is the ruling passion of the bulk of mankind,
diaa_onds will probably continue the objects of eager competition while
the obstacles that limit their supply are undiminished. If a Sinbad
should discover a valley of diamonds, or we should succeed in manu-
facturing them from charcoal, they will probably be used only as
ornaments for savages, playthings for children, and as affording tools
and raw materials for some of the Arts; and we may send cargoes of
diamonds to the coast of Guinea to be bartered for equal quantifies of
ivory or gum.
V_v_.
ValmeDeJB_ed._Ollr definition of Wealth, as comprehending all those
things, and those things only which have Va/ue, requires us to explain
at some length the signification which we attribute to the word Value;
especially as the meaning of that word has been the subject of long
and eager controversy. We have already stated that we use the word
VA_,u_ in its popular acceptation, as signifying thaZ qwgllty in any-
th_ which fits it to be given and received in _xchange; or, in other
words, to be lent or sold, hired or purchased.
So defined, Value denotes a relation reciprocally existing between
 14 NATURE OF WEALTH.

two objects, and the precise relation which it denotes is the quantity
of the one which can be obtained in exchange for a given quantity of
the other. It is impossible, therefore, to predicate value of any object,
without referring, expressly or tacitly, to some other object or objects
in which its value is to be estimated; or, in other words, of which a
certain quantity can be obtained in exchange for a certain quantity of
the object in question.
We have already observed that the substance which at present is
most desired, or, in other words, possesses the highest degree of value,
is the diamond. By this we meant to express that there is no sub-
stance of which a given quantity will exchange for so large a quantity
of every other commodity. When we wished to state the value of the
king of_Persia's bracelet, we stated first the amount of gold. and after-
wards of English labour, which it would command in exchange. If we
had attempted to give a perfect account of its value, we could have
done so only by enumerating separately the quantity of every other
article of wealth which could be obtained in exchange for it. Such an
_numeration, if it could have been given, would have been a most
instructive commercial lesson, for it would have shown not only the
value of the diamond in all other commodities, but the reciprocal value
of all other commodities in one another. If we had ascertained that
a diamond weighing an ounce would exchange for one million five
hmldred thousand tons of Hepburn coal, or one hundred thousand tons
of Essex wheat, or two thousand five hundred tons of English foolscap
paper, we might have inferred tbat the coal, wheat, and paper would
mutually exchange in the same proportions in which they were
exchangeable for the diamond, and that a given weight of paper would
purchase six hundred times as much coal, and forty times as much
wheat.
Demnd and sup#y.--The causes which determine the reciprocal
values of commodities, or, in other words, which determine that a given
quantity of one shall exchange for a given quantity of another, must
be divided into two sets; those which occasion the one to be limited
in supply and useful, (using that word to express the power of
occasioning pleasure and preventing pain,) and those which occasion
these attributes to belong to the other. In ordinary language, the
force of the causes which give utility to a commodity is generally
indicated by the word Demand; and the weakness of the obstacles
which limit the quantity of a commodity by the word _qupply.
Thus the common statement that commodities exchange in proper-
tion to the Demand and Supply of each, means that they exchange in
proportion to the force or weakness of the causes which,give utility to
them respectively, and to the weakness or force of the obstacles by
which they are respectively limited in supply.
Unfortunately, however, the words Demand and Supply have not
been always so used. Demand is sometimes used as synonymous with
 NATURE OF WEALTH. 15

consumption, as when an increased production is said to generate an

increased demand; sometimes it is used to express not only the desire
to obtain a commodity, but the power to give the bolder of it some-
thing which will induce him to part with it. "A Demand," says )[r.
Mill, Political Econo_ny, p. 23. 3d edition, "means the will to purchase
and the power of purchasing." Mr. Malthus, D_.finitions in Political
Economy, p. 244, states that "Demand for commodities has two
distinct meanings: one in general to its extent, or the quantity of
commodities purchased; the other in regard to its intensity, or the
sacrifice which the demanders are able and willing to make in order
to satisfy their wants."
Demana.--Ncither of these expressions appears to he consistent with
common usage. It must be admitted that the word Demand is used
in its ordinary sense when we say that a deficient wheat harvest
increases the I)emand for oats and I_arlcy. But this proposition is not
true if we use the word Demand in any other sense than as expressing
the increased utility of oats and barley; or, in other words, the
increased desire of t_ae community to obtain them. The deficiency of
wheat would not give to the consumers of oats and barley any increased
power of purchasing them, nor would the quantity purchased or con-
sumed be increased. The mode of consumption would be altered;
instead of being applied to the feeding of horses, or to tbe supply of
stimulant liquids, a certain portion of them would be used as human
food. And, as the desire to eat is more urgent than the desire to feed
horses, or drink beer or spirits, the desire to obtain oats and barley,
or, in other words, the pleasure given, or the pain averted, by the
possession of a given quantity of them, or, in other words, the u_ility
of a given quantity of them, would increase. A fact which, in ordinary
language, would be expressed by saying, that the demand for them
was increased.
But though the vagueness with which the word Demand has been
used renders it an objectionable term, it is too useful and concise to
be given up; but we shall endeavour never to use it in any other
signification than as expressing the utility of a commodity; or, what
is the same, for we have seen that all utility is relative, the degree in
which its possession is desired.
t_pl, tr.--We cannot complain of equal vagueness in the use of the
word Supply. In ordinary language, as well as in the writings of
Political Economfists, it is used to signify the quantity of a commodity
actually brought to market. The complaint is, not tbat the word
Supply has been used in this sense, but that, when used in this sense,
it has been considered as a cause of value, except in a few cases, or
for very abort periods. We have shown, in the examples of coats and
waistcoats, and gold and silver, that the reciprocal value of any t_vo
commodities depends, not on the quantity of each brought to market,
but on the comparative force of the obstacles which in each ease oppose
 16 lqATURE OF WEALTH.

any increase in that quantity. When, therefore, we represent increase

or diminution of supply as affecting value, we must be understood to
mean not a mere positive increase or diminution, but an increase or
diminution occasioned by a diminution or increase of the obstacles by
which the supply is limited.
lntrin#ic and Extrinsic {*au_es of the Value of a Commodity.--To
revert to our original proposition, the reciprocal Values of any two
commodities must be determined by two sets of causes; those which
determine the Demand and Supply of the one, and those which deter-
mine the Demand and Supply of the other. The causes which give
utility to a commodity and limit it in supply may be called the intrinsic
causes of its value; those which limit the supply and occasion the
utility of the commodities for which it is to be exchanged, may be
eaUed the ex_r/_/c causes of its value. Gold and silver are now
exchanged for one another in Europe in the proportion of one ounce of
gold for about sixteen ounces of silver. This proportion must arise
partly from the causes which give utility to gold and limit its supply,
and partly from those which create the utility and limit the supply_of
silver. When talking of the value of gold we may consider the first
set of causes as influencing its general value, since they affect its
powers of commanding every commodity in exchange. The second set
of causes affect gold only so far as it is to be exchanged for silver,
which may be called one of its specific values; the aggregate of its
specific values forming its general value. If, while the causes which
give utility to silver and limit it in supply were unaltered, those which
affect gold should vary; if, for instance, fashion should require every
well-dressed man to have all his buttons of pure gold, or the disturb-
ances in South Araerica should permanently stop all the gold works
of Brazil and Colombia, and thus (as would be the case) intercept
five-sixths of our supplies of gold, the reciprocal values of gold and
silver would in time be materially varied. Though silver would be
unaltered both as to its utility and as to its limitation in supply, a
given quantity of it would exchange for a less quantity of gold in the
proportion perhaps of twenty to one, instead of sixteen to one. As
between one another the rise and fall of gold and silver would precisely
correspond, silver would fall and gold would rise one-fourth. But the
fall of silver would not be general but specific; though fallen as
estimated in gold, it would command precisely the same quantities as
before of all ether commodities. The rise of gold would be general;
a given quantity of it would command one-fourth more not only of
silver, but of all other commodities. The holder of a given quantity
of silver would be just as rich as before for all purposes except the
purchase of gold; the hdder of a given quantity of gold would be
richer than before for all purposes.
The circumstances by which each different class of commodities is
invested with utility and limited in supply are subject to perpetual
 :NATUREOF WEALTH. ]7

variation. S&netimes one of the causes alone varies. Sometimes

they both vary in the same direction ; sometimes in opposite directions.
In the last case the opposite variations, wholly or partially, neutralize
one another.
The effects of an increased Demand concurrent with increased
obstacles to Supply, and of diminished Demand concurrent with
increased facility of Supply, are well exemplified by hemp. Its
average price before the revolutionary war, exclusive of duty, did not
exceed £30 per ton. The increased Demand, occasioned by a mari-
time war, and the natural obstacles to a proportionate increase of
Supply, raised it, in the year 1796, to above £,50 a ton ; at about
which price it continued during the next twelve years. But in 1808,
the rupture between England and the Baltic powers, the principal
source of our supplies, suddenly raised it to £118 a ton, being nearly
four times the average price in peace. At the close of the war, both
the extraordinary demand and the extraordinary obstacles to the
supply ceased together, and the price fell to about its former average.
We have already stated that the utility of a commodity, in our
extended sense of the term utility, or, in other words, the demand for
it as an object of purchase or hire, is principally dependent on the
obstacles which limit its supply. But there are many cases in which,
while the existing obstacles remain unaltered, the demand is affected
by the slightest suspicion that their force may at a future period be
increased or diminished. This occurs with respect to those commodities
of which the supply is not susceptible of accurate regulation, but is
afforded either in uncertain quantities and at stated periods, between
which it cannot be increased or diminished,--in the case for instance
of the annual products of the earth,--or is dependent on our relations
with foreign Countries. If a harvest deficient by one-third should
occur, that deficiency must last for a whole year, or be supplied from
abroad at an extravagant cost. H we should go to war with Russia,
the obstacles to the supply of hemp would be increased while the war
lasted. In either case the holders of corn or hemp would obtain great
profits. In all rich Countries, and particularly in our own, there is a
great number of persons who have large masses of wealth capable of
being suddenly applied to the purchase of any given objects. The
instant such persons suspect that the obstacles to the supply of any
article are likely to be increased, they are anxious to become holders
of it. They enter the market as new demanders; the price rises,
and the mere fact that it has risen is a cause of its rising further.
The details of commerce are so numerous, the difficulty of obtaining
early and accurate information is so great, and the facts themselves
are so constantly changing, that the most cautious merchants are
often forced to act upon very doubtful premises ; and the imprudent,
dazzled by the chance of an enormous gain, which will be their own,
and little restrained by the fear of a loss which may principally fall
c
18 NATURE OF WEALTH.

upon their creditors, are often ready to act upon scarcely any premises
at all. They see that the price of some article has risen, and they
suppose that there must be some good cause for it. They see that if
they had purchased a month ago, they would have been gainers now,
and conclude that if they purchase now they will be gainers a mouth
hence. So far is this reasoning, if it can be called reasoning, carried,
that a rise in the price of any one important commodity is generally
found to occasion a rise in the price of many others. " A" (thinks a
speculator) " bought hemp before the price had risen, and has resold
it at a profit. Cotton has not yet risen, nor do I see clearly why it
should rise, any more than I see why hemp should have risen, but it
probably will rise like hemp, therefore I will purchase."
Those who are not practically conversant with commercial transac-
tions, and who are probably accustomed to consider our merchants
and capitalists as men of sober minds, and cautious conduct, may
perhaps think that we exaggerate the influence of imagination over
judgment when we suppose that largo fortunes are often risked on
such reasoning as this. We cannot support our view better than by
the authority of Mr. Tooke, a merchant of great talent and knowledge,
and, at the period when he wrote, forced for his own safety, to watch
narrowly the phenomena which he described. The passages which
we subjoin are taken from his account of the circumstances which
occasioned the extraordinary rise of prices in the beginning of 1825.
" The dose of each year 9 is the period at which, by annual custom,
the stocks of goods on hand, and the prospects of supply and con-
sumption for the coming season, are stated and reasoned upon by
merchants and brokers in circular letters addressed to their corre-
spondents and employers. By these circulars it appeared (at the
close of 1824) that, of some important articles, the stock on hand fell
short of that at the close of the preceding year. From this the con-
clusion was more or less plausibly deduced, that the rate of the annual
consumption of those articles was outrunning the rate of the annual
supply, and that an advance in price ought to take place; and at the
same time, there were, as in thecase of cotton and silk, confident reports
of the failure of crops or other causes which would inevitably diminish
the forthcoming supply. Expectation of scarcity was thus combined
with actual deficiency in exciting the spirit of speculation. This was
directed in the first instance to the artiele_ which, upon fair mereantil6
grounds, justified and called for some advance in price, inasmcuh as
the rate of the consumption of them had outrun the average rate of
supply. The rise, however, which would have been requisite to
increase the supply, or to diminish the consumption, would, in most
of the eases in question, have been trifling.
" But when speculation is once on foot, the rise of any one article

Considerations
on the_qtateof the Currenc_p. 43.
 NATURE OF WEALTH. 1,¢_

may not only be in a ratio far greater than the occasion really calls
for, but may cause indirectly a rise in other commodities.
"The impulse, therefore, to a rise being given, and every succeeding
purchaser having realized, or appearing to have the power of realizing,
a profit, a fresh inducement appeared in every step of the advance to
bring forward new buyers. These were no longer such only as were
conversant with the market: many persons were induced to go out
of their own line, and to embark their funds, or stretch their credit,
with a view to engage in what was represented to them by the brokers
a certain means of realizing a great and immediate gain.
" Cotton exhibited the most extraordinary instance of speculation
carried beyond all reasonable bounds. Silk, wool, and some other
articles, in which some advance was justified by the relative state of
the supply and demand, became the subjects of a speculative anticipa-
tion, and advanced much beyond the occasion, as the event proved,
though not in so great a degree as cotton.
"Never did the public, that part of it at least which entered into
the vortex of the operations in question, exhibit so great a degree of
infatuation, so complete an abandonment of all the most ordinary
rules of mercantile reasoning since the celebrated bubble year !720,
as it did in the latter part of 1824, and in the first three or four
months of 1825.
" The speculative anticipation of an advance was no longer confined
to articles which presented a plausible ground for some rise, however
small. It extended itself to articles which were not only not deficient
in quantity but which were actually in excess. Thus coffee, of which
the stock was increased compared with the average of former years,
advanced from 70 to 80 per cent. Spices rose in some instances from
100 to 200 per cent. without any reason whatever, and with a total
ignorance on the part of the operators of every thing connected with
the relation of the supply to the consumption.
"In short, there was hardly an article of merchandise which did
not participate in the rise. For it became the business of the specu-
lators or the brokers, who were interested in raising and keeping up
prices, to look minutely through the general Price Currents with a
view to discover any article which had not advanced, in order to make
it the subject of anticipated demand.
" If a person not under the influence of the prevailing delusion
ventured to inquire for what reason any particular article had risen,
the common answer was, 'Every thing, else has risen, and therefore
this ought to rise.' "
When we consider that the supply of large classes of commodities
is dependent ou our amicable or hostile relations with foreign States,
and on the commercial and financial legislation both of those States
and of our own Country, and that the supply of still larger classes is
dependent not only on those contingencies, but on the accidents of the
20 NATUREOF WEALTH.

seasons,--and when we consider how the demand is affected not merely

by the existing, or the anticipated obstacles to the supply, but often
by a spirit of speculation as blind as that of a gambler ignorant of the
odds and even of the principles of his game,--it is obvious that the
general value of all commodities, the quantity of each which will
exchange for a given quantity of every other, can never remain the
same for a single day. Every day there will be a variation in the
demand or the supply of one or more of the innumerable classes of
commodities which are the objects of exchange in a commercial
Country. A given quantity of the commodity which has varied will
consequently exchange for a greater or a less quantity of all other
commodities. All other commodities, therefore, will have varied in
value as estimated in the first-mentioned commodity. It is as impos-
sible for one commodity to remain perfectly unaltered in value while
any other is altered, as it would be for a lighthouse to keep at the
same distance from all the ships in a harbour while any one of them
should approach it or recede.
_teadine_ in Walne, on what it depends.--But it may be asked, what
do we mean when we say that a commodity has, for a given period,
remained steady in value ?
The question must be answered by referring to the different effects
produced on the value of a commodity by an alteration in the intrinsic,
or an alteration in the extrinsic, causes on which value depends. If
the causes which give utility to a commodity and limit its supply, and
which we have called the intrinsic causes of its value, are altered, the
rise or fall in its value will be general. A given quantity of it will
exchange for a greater or a less quantity than before of every other
commodity which has not also varied at the same time, in the same
direction, and in the same degree; a coincidence which rarely occurs.
Every other commodity must also rise or fall in value as estimated in
the first-mentioned commodity, but not generally.
The fluctuations in value to which a commodity is subject by altera-
tions, in what we have called the extrinsic causes of its value, or, in
other words, by alterations in the demand or supply of other corn-
modifies, have a tendency, like all other extensive combinations of
chances, to neutralize one another. While it retains the same utility,
and is limited in supply by the same causes, a given quantity of it,
though it may exchange for a greater or a less quantity of different
specific commodities, will in general command the same average
quantity as before of the general mass of commodities; what it gains
or loses in one direction being made up in a6otber. It may be said,
without impropriety, therefore, to remain steady in value. But the
rise or fall in value which a commodity experiences in consequence of
an alteration in its utility, or in the obstacles to its supply, is, in fact,
entirely uncompensated. It is compensated only with regard to those
commodities of which the utility or the supply has also varied at the
 NATURE OF WEALTH. 2].

same time and in the same direction. And as quite as many are
likely to experience a similar variation, but in an opposite direction.
there is really no compensation. A commodity, therefore, which is
strikingly subject to such variations, is properly said to be unsteady
in value.
But we may be asked to account for another and not unfrequent
statement, that at particular periods all commodities have been observed
to rise or fall in value. Literally taken, this statement involves a
contradiction in terms, since it is impossible that a given quantity of
every commodity should exchange for a greater or a less quantity of
every other. _:hen those who make this statement have any meaning,
they al_vays tacitly exclude some one commodity, and estimate in that
the rise or fall of all others. The excluded commodity is, in general.
money or labour.
Estimated iu labour, all commodities, money included, have fallen
in value in England since the XVIth Century. It is scarcely possible
to mention one of which a given quantity will not purchase less labour
than it did at the close of Elizabeth's reign: estimated in money,
almost all commodities, labour included, have fallen in England since
the termination of the late war.
The last remark which we shall now make on value is, that: with
a very few exceptions, it is strictly local. A ton of coal at the bottom
of the pit near Newcastle is perhaps worth 2s. 6d., at the pit's mouth
it is perhaps worth 5s., at ten miles off 7s., at Hull 10s. By the
time the collier has reached the Pool, its cargo is seldom worth tess
than ]6s. a ton; and the inhabitant of Grosvenor Square may perhap_
think himself fortunate if he can fill his coal cellars at 25s. a ton. '''
A ton of coal, though physically identical, must be considered, for
economical purposes, as a different commodity at the bottom of the
pit and at its mouth, in Hull and in Grosvenor Square. At every
different stage of its progress it is limited in supply by different
obstacles, and consequently exchangeable for different things and
in different proportions. Supposing that at Newcastle a ton of the
best wheat is now worth about twenty tons of the best coal: the same
wheat and coal at the west end of London may probably exchange
in the proportions of about four tons of coal for one of wheat. At
Odessa, they may perhaps exchange about weight for weight.
Whenever, therefore, we speak of the value of a commodity, it is
necessary to state the locality both of the commodity in question and
of the commodity in which its value is estimated. And in most cases
we shall find their respective proximity to the places where they are
respectively to be made use of one of the principal constituents of their
respective values. The purchaser of the distant commodity has to
consider the labour of transporting it to the place of consumption, the

loThese prices are merelyassumedforthe purposeof illustration.

o2 NATURE OF WEALTH.

time for which that labour must be paid in advance, and the taxation,
and the risk of injury or loss to which it may be subject in its transit.
Nor is this all. He must also consider the danger that its_quality
may not correspond with the description or sample which guided him
in making the purchase. The whole expense and risk attending the
transport of a diamond from Edinburgh to London are but trifling;
but its value is so dependent on its form and lustre, and those are
qualities as to which it is so dii_cutt to satisfy any purchaser who
cannot ascertain them by inspection, that it would be difficult to obtain
in London a fair price for a diamond in Edinburgh. Again, though
a given quantity of coal from a given mine is generally of an ascer-
tained quality, yet the expense, loss of time, risk, and taxation, which
must be incurred in its transport from Newcastle to Grosvenor Square,
are such, that a ton of coal, when it has reached Grosvenor Square,
may be of nearly five times the value which it bore at l_cwcastle.
OBJ_CTIO,_'STO _HV.DErI_-IZlO_ or WEALZa CO_'SmEaED.
The definition of Wealth, as comprehending all those things, and
those things only, which have Value, or, in other words, which may
be purchased or hired, does not, we believe, precisely agree with that
adopted by any Economist except Archbishop Whately.
The principal differences are these: some writers confine the term
Wealth to what have been termed material products; some to those
things which have been produced or acquired by human labour; and
some object to the ideas of value or exchange being introduced into
the definition of Wealth.
The question whether the things which have been called immaterial
ought to be considered articles of wealth, we shall consider when we
treat of production.
Some of the writers who, expressly or impliedly, restrict the term
Weahh to the things, the production or appropriation of which has
cost human labour, as for instance Mr. Mill, Mr. M'Culloch, Colonel
Torrens, Mr. Malthus, and M. Flores-Estrada, appear to suppose that
a definition so restricted will comprise every thing that can properly
be termed wealth; others, among whom is _Ir. _icardo, admit that
there are some things falling" within that term which have not been
acquired by human exertion, but think them so few or unimportant
that it is better to omit them than to disorder the symmetry of the
Science by extending it to any thing that is not the result of labour.
The former doctrine is clearly stated in the following passages from
Mr. Malthus, Colonel Torrens, and Mr. M'Culloeh.
" Wealth. The material things necessary, useful, or agreeable to
man, which have required some portion of human exertion to appro-
priate or produce.""

n Malthus,Definitions,p. 2"J4.
 .NATUREOF WEALTH. 03

"Wealth, considered as the object of economical Science, consists

of those material articles which are useful or desirable to man, and
which it requires some portion of voluntary exertion to procure or to
preserve. Thus two things are essential to wealth : the possession of
utility, and the requiring some portion of voluntary exertion or labour.
That which has no utility, which serves neither to supply our wants
nor to gratify our desires, is as the dust beneath our feet, or as the
sand upon the shore, and obviously forms no portion of our wealth;
while, on the other hand, things which possess the highest utility,
and which are even necessary to our existence, come not under the
denomination of wealth, unless to the possession of utility be superadded
the circumstance of having been procured by some voluntary exertion.
Though the air which we breathe and the sunbeams by which we are
warmed are in the highest degree useful and necessary, it would be
a departure from the precision of language to denominate them articles
of wealth. But the bread which appeases the cravings of hunger, and
the clothing which protects us from the rigour of the season, though
not more indispensably requisite than the former, are with propriety
classed under the term wealth; because to the possession of utility
they add the circumstance of having been produced by labour." 1._
" Labour is the only source of wealth. Nature spontaneously fur-
nishes the matter of which all commodities are made; but until labour
has been expended in appropriating matter, or in adapting it to our
use, it is who]ly destitute of value, and is not, nor ever has been,
considered as forming _ealth. Place us on the banks of a river, or
in an orchard, and we shall inevitably perish of thirst or hunger, if we
do not, by a_ e2_brtof industry, raise the water to our lips, or pluck
the fruit from its parent tree.
"An object which it does not require any portion of ]abour to
appropriate or to adapt to our own use, may be of the very highest
utility, but, as it is the free gift of nature, it is utterly impossible it
can possess the smallest value. 'u'_
Mr. M'Culloch appears to use the word labour as including all
voluntary action. And without doubt, if we use the word labour in
so extended a sense, it is true that labour is almost necessarily inci-
dental to the enjoyment of wealth. If it be an act of industry to
gather an apple, it is equally an act of industry to raise it from one's
plate; and every guest at a festival earns his food by the labour which
he exerts in appropriating his own portion. Such attempts as these
to bend facts and language into accordance with hasty generalization,
have thrown on Political Economy a degree of ridicule which is one
of the principal obstacles to its progress.
Mr. Malthus, Colonel Torrens, and the other Economists who
consider labour, using that word in its popular sense, as a necessary

12Torrens,Productionof Wealth,Ch. i. 13PrinciTlesof PoliticalEvonomy,66--72.

24 NATURE OF WEALTH.

constitutent of wealth, appear to have been led to that opinion by

observing, first, that some quality besides mere utility is necessary
to value; secondly, that all those things which are useful, and are
acquired by labour, are valuable; and thirdly, that almost every thing
which is valuable has required some labour for its acquisition. But
the fact that that circumstance is not essential to value will be demon-
strated if we can suppose a case in which value could exist without
it. If_ while carelessly lounging along the sea-shore, I were to pick
up a pearl, would it have no value ? Mr. M'Culloeh would answer
that the value of the pearl was the result of my appropriative industry
in stooping to pick it up. Suppose then that I met with it while
eating an oyster ? Supposing that aerolithes consisted of gold, would
they have no value ? Or, suppose that meteoric iron were the only
form in which that metal were produced, would not the iron supplied
from heaven be far more valuable than any existing metal ? It is true
that, wherever there is utility, the addition of labour as necessary to
production constitutes value, because, the supply of labour being
limited, it follows that the object, to the supply of which it is necessary,
is by that very necessity limited in supply. But any other cause
limiting supply is just as eificient a cause of value in an article as
the necessity of labour to its production. And, in fact, if all the
commodities used by man were supplied by nature without any inter-
vention whatever of human labour, but were supplied in precisely the
same quantities as they now are, there is no reason to suppose either
that they would cease to be valuable, or would exchange in any other
than their present proportions.
The reply to Mr. Rieardo is, first, that the articles of wealth which
do not owe the principal part of their value to the labour which has
been bestowed on their respective actual production, form, in fact, the
bulk of wealth, instead of a small and unimportant portion of it ; and
secondly, that, as limitation of supply is essential to the value of labour
itself, to assume labour, and exclude limitation of supply, as the con-
dition on which value depends, is not only to substitute a partial for
a general cause, but pointedly to exclude the very cause which gives
force to the cause assigned.
We have lastly to consider the objections which have been raised
to the definition of wealth as a general name for the things which have
value. Those who use the word value as synonymous with cost, or as
comprehending whatever is useful, of course object to its introduction
into the definition of wealth; and so should we do if we used the word
value in either of those senses. But other writers, using the word
value in its popular sense, have objected that, according to the defini-
tion which we have adopted, the same thing will be wealth to one
person and not to another. This consequence is evident; and it is
evident that even to the same person the same quality may be wealth
under some circumstances, and not so under others. The knowledge
 NATUREOF WEALTH. 25

of English law is profitable in England, that of French law in France:

if an English lawyer, with no other property but his knowledge, were
to settle in France, or a French lawyer in England, he would find
himself instantly reduced from affluence to poverty. The power of
telling long stories is a source of profit in Asia, but valueless in
Europe. According to our nomenclature, therefore, it would be
wealth in Persia, and cease to be so in England. If an actress should
embrace a religious sect of which the tenets should be incompatible
with the stage, her vocal and dramatic talents would no longer be
exchangeable, she would no longer be able to let them out by the
evening. We would say, therefore, that they had ceased to be a
part of her wealth. But we are at a loss to conceive how the power
of making this distinction is an objection to the language in question.
It seems to be its principal convenience.
Again, Colonel Torrens supposes a solitary family, or a nation in
which each person should consume only his own productions, or one
in which there should be a community of goods, and urges, as a
reductio ad absurdum, that in these eases, though there might be an
abundance of commodities, as there would be no exchanges, there
would, in our sense of the term, be no wealth. The answer is, that,
for the purposes of Political Economy, there would be no wealth; for,
in fact, in such a state of things, supposing it possible, the Science of
Political Economy would have no application. In such a state of
society, Agriculture, Mechanics, or any other of the Arts which are
subservient to the production of the commodities which are, with us,
the subjects of exchange, might be studied, but the Science of Political
Economy would not exist. We may add, that if the common usage
which identifies wealth with the things which have value is a convenient
one in all the forms which human nature really exhibits, it is no
objection to it that it would not be convenient in a state of society of
which we have no experience.
STATEMENT OF THE FOUR ELEMENTARY PROPOSITIONS
OF THE SCIENCE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY.

W_ have already stated that the general facts on which the Science
of Political Economy rests, are comprised in a few general Propositions,
the result of observation or consciousness. The Propositions to which
we then alluded are these :--

1. That et_eryman desires to obtain additional Wealth vftth as little

sacrifice as possible.

2. That the Population of the world, or, in other words, the number
of pcrs_ts inhabiting it, is limited only by moral or physical evil, or by
fear of a deficiency of those articles of wealth which the habits of the
individuals of each class of it,s i_,habi_ants lead them to require.

3. That the powers of .Labo_tr, and of the other instruments which

produce _cealth. v_ay be i?utefinitdy increased by using their Products
as the nteans of .ti_rthcr Production.

4. That agricultural s],;il! rev_aining the same, additional Labour

employed on the land within a given district produces in general a less
proportio_zate return, or, in other words, that tlwugh, with every increase
of the labour bestowed, the aggregate return is increased, the increase
of the return is not i?zproportion to the increase of the Labour.

The first of these Propositions is a matter of consciousness, the

three others are matter of observation. As the first and second
involve little use of the peculiar abstractions of Political Economy,
except thoseimplied in thcterm Wealth, and may therefore be explained
with little recourse to its peculiar nomenclature, we shall consider
them immediately; leaving the third and fourth for discussion in a
subsequent part of this Treatise. They are, however, so nearly self-
evident, that we will venture in the mean time to assume their truth.
No one who reflects on the difference between the unassisted force of
man, and the more than gigantic powers of capital and machinery,
can doubt the former proposition; and, to convince ourselves of the
other, it is necessary only to recollect that, if it were false, no land
except the very best could ever be cultivated : since if the return from
a single farm were to increase in flfll proportion to any amount of
 GENERAL DESIRE FOR WEALTH. 27

increased labour bestowed on it, the produce of that one farm might
feed the whole population of England.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRST ELEMENTARY PROPOSITION OF THE

SCIENCE, NAMELY, THAT ON

The General Desire for WeaMz.

In stating that every man desires to obtain additional wealth with
as little sacrifice as possible, we must not be supposed to mean, that
every body, or indeed any body, wishes for an indefinite quantity of
every thing; still less as stating that wealth, though the universal,
either is, or ought to be, the principal object of human desire. What
we mean to state is, that no person feels his whole wants to be
adequately supplied: that every person has some unsatisfied desires
which he believes that additional wealth would gratify. The nature
and the urgency of each individual's wants are as various as the
differences in individual character. Some may wish for power,
others for distinction, and others for leisure; some require bodily,
and others mental amusement; some are anxious to produce important
advantage to the public; and there are few, perhaps there are none,
who, if it could be done by a wish, would not benefit their acquaintances
and friends. Money seems to be tile only object for which the desire
is universal; and it is so, because money is abstract wealth. Its
possessor may satisfy at will his ambition, or vanity, or indolence,
his public spirit or his private benevolence; may multiply the means of
obtaining bodily pleasure, or of avoiding bodily evil, o_"the still more
expensive amusements of the mind. Any one of these pursuits would
exhaust the largest fortune within the limits of individual acquisition;
and as all men would engage in some of them, and many in all, the
desire for wealth must be insatiable, though the modes in which
different individuals would employ it are infinitely diversified.
An equal diversity exists in the amount and the kind of the sacrifices
which different individuals, or even the same individual, will encounter
in the pursuit of wealth. And not only is the same sacrifice more
severe to one than to another, as some will not give up ease or leisure
for study, others good air and a country life, and others recreation
and society, but the absolute desire for wealth on the one hand, and
the absolute will to eneounter toils or privations in its pursuit on the
other, are stronger in some men than in others. These differences
form some of the principal distinctions in individual and national
character. Experience however, shows, and indeed it might have
been predicted _ priori, that the greatest and longest continued
sacrifices will be made in those Countries in which property is most
secure, and the road to social eminence is the most open. The
inhabitants of Holland and of Great Britain, and of the Countries that
have derived their institutions from Great Britain, the nations which
_08 GENERAL DESIRE FOR WEALTH.

up to the present time have best enjoyed those advantages, have up

to the present time been the most ardent and the most successful in
the pursuit of opulence. But even the Indians of Mexico, though
their indolence makes them submit to poverty under which an English-
man would feel life a burden, would willingly be rich if it cost them
no trouble.
It may be necessary, however, to explain our motives for dwelling
on so much that is self-evident. Our first reason is, that the pro-
position in question, though we are not aware that any one has thought
that it required to be formally stated, is assumed in almost every
process of economical reasoning. It is the corner-stone of the doctrine
of wages and profits, and, generally speaking, of exchange. In short,
it is in Political Economy what gravitation is in Physics, or the dic-
tum de omni et n_ in Logic: the ultimate fact beyond which
reasoning cannot go, and of which almost every other proposition is
merely an illustration. In an attempt to state the evidence on which
the Science rests, it appeared to us improper to omit its foundation,
though at the hazard of appearing to take up our reader's time in
defending what it may be supposed that nobody ever thought of
questioning.
But, in the second place, this proposition, apparently self-evident,
has been implicdly questioned. It is directly opposed to a doctrine
of considerable popularity, and supported by great names,--we mean
tile doctrine of over-production or universal glut.
By the word glut is meant the production of a given commodity in
an abundance, either absolutely beyond the desires of its intended
consumers, or beyond the amount for which they are able and willing
to offer in exchange equivalents sufficient to induce the producer to
continue his operations. Books ares perhaps, the commodities most
subject to gluts. The proportionate expenses of printing and adver-
tising increase so rapidly, if the number of copies printed be much
reduced, and authors are so little subject to underrate the probable
demand for their labours, that scarcely any edition consists of less
than two hundred and fifty copies, and very few of less than five
hundred. But we have seen calculations showing that not in one
ease out of two hundred are all the copies sold off at the price at
which they originally came out. In ordinary cases, from fifty to one
hundred are sold in the first year, and thirty or forty in the second;
by the end of which time the book has been forgotten, and the unsold
copies are put up to sale at periodical auctions among the booksellers.
The best that can happen to them is to be purchased on this occasion
in order to be again offered to the public; but the majority of Works
are found to be worth purchase, not as books, but as paper. They
are unsold at the trade sales, and find their way
In vicumz,endentemthuset odores
Et lMper, et quidquidcharti¢amiviturineTtis.
 GENERALDESIRE FOR WEALTH. 29

We have selected books as affording an illustration of a glut arising

from a miscalculation not of the ability, but of the willingness of
purchasers. The opening of a new trade is generally followed by
gluts occasioned by miscalculations of both. Every one must recollect,
when Brazil and Spanish America first became accessible, our exports
of skates, and fire-irons, and warming pans to the tropics. And,
until their real poverty was known, we continued to fill their ware-
houses with cargoes, adapted indeed to their wants, but far beyond
their means. Miscalculations of this kind must obviously be of
frequent occurrence; and perhaps what ought to excite our surprise
is, not the extent to which they prevail, but the degree in which they
are avoided. But it appears clear that they can arise only from one
or the other of two causes : either from the articles of wealth, witi_
respect to which the glut exists, having been prepared for persons
who do not want them, or from those persons not being provided with
other articles of wealth, suited to the desires of the producers of the
first-mentioned articles of wealth, to offer in exchange for them.
Partial gluts, occasioned by the one or the other of these causes, are
among the most ordinary commercial occurrences. But the opinion
to which our doctrine is opposed is that which admits the possibility
not only of partial but of universal gluts, which supposes it possible
that there may be at the same time a glut of services and commodities
in general,--that we may have too much of everything; a doctrine
not only of frequent occurrence in conversations on commercial subjects,
but even maintained by some distinguished writers. Now as by the
assumed hypothesis of a universal glut all the articles of wealth exist
not only in abundance, but in superabundance, an absolute deficiency
of equivalents cannot be one of its causes. And it can scarcely be
supposed that there can be such a general state of commercial cross-
purposes as to prevent, in the majority of cases, the proper sellers and
purchasers from meeting. It can scarcely be supposed that when A has
what B wants, and B what A wants, A and B should, in the majority
of instances, instead of finding out and exchanging with one another.
offer their respective commodities to Y and Z, who, having also each
reciprocal wants and supplies, neither wish to purchase from A
.r B, nor have discovered the means of exchanging with one another.
But ff it be absurd to suppose that a general glut could be occasioned
by such an universal spirit of blundering as this, the only remaining
hypothesis on which the existence of a general glut can be supposed.
is that of a general satiety, that all men may be so fully provided
with the precise articles which they desire as to afford no market
for eaoh other's superfluities. And this doctrine is opposed to the
proposition with which we set out, that every man desires to obtain
additional wealth.
30 POPULATION.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND ELEMENTARY PROPOSITION OF THE

SCIENCE, NAMELY, THAT ON

The Causes whic]z Limit Population.

Having explained the sense in which we use the word wealth, and
stated, or rather recalled to the recollection of our readers, the general
desire to obtain additional wealth with the least possible sacrifice, we
now proceed to consider the second of the four elementary propositions
on which the Science of Political Economy is founded; namely, that
the population of the world, or, in other words, the number of persons
inhabiting it, is limited only by moral or physical evil, or by fear of
the deficiency of those articles of wealth which the habits of the
individuals of each class of its inhabitants lead them to require.
It is now generally admitted, indeed it is strange that it should
ever have required to be pointed out, that ever), species of plant or
animal which is capable of increase, either by generation or by seed,
must be capable of a constantly increasing increase; every addition
to its numbers being capable of affording a source of still further
additions; or, in other words, that wherever there is a capacity of
increase, it must be a capacity of increase not by mere addition, but
by multiplication; or, to use the short form in which the proposition
isusualty stated, notin an arithmetical, but ina geometrical ratio. The
rate at which any species of plant or animal is capable of increasing,
must depend on the average power of reproduction, and the average
period of existence of the individuals of which it is constituted.
Wheat, we know, is an annual, and its average power of reproduction,
perhaps, about six for one; on that supposition, the produce of a
single acre might cover the globe in fourteen years. The rate at
which the human race is capable of increasing has been determined
by observation. It has been ascertained that, for considerable periods
and in extensive districts, under temperate climates, it has doubled
every twenty-five years.
The power of reproduction in the human race must, under similar
climates, be always the same. We say, under similar climates,
because the acceleration of puberty, which has been sometimes
observed in tropical climates, unless checked, as is probably the case,
by an earlier cessation of child-bearing, would occasion increased
fecundity. Now, the United States of America, the districts in which
the rate of increase which we have mentioned has been most clearly
ascertained, are not remarkable for the longevity of their inhabitants.
We may infer, therefore, that such is the average power of reproduc-
tion and average duration of life in the individuals constituting the
human species, that their number may double every twenty-five years.
At this rate the inhabitants of every Country would, in the course of
every five centuries, increase to above a million times their previous
number. At this rate the population of England would, in five hun-
 POPULATION. 31

dred years, exceed fifteen million millions : a population which would

not allow them standing room. Such being the human powers of
increase, the question is, By what checks is their expansion con-
trolled ? Holy comes it that the population of the world, instead of
being now a million times as great as it was five hundred years ago,
apparently has not doubled within that time, and certainly has not
quadrupled ?
Mr. Malthus has divided the checks to popul_Rion into the preventive
and the positive. The first are those which limit fecundity, the
second those which decrease longevity. The first diminish the number
of births, the second increase that of deaths. And as fecundity and
longevity are the only elements of the calculation, it is clear that Mr.
Malthus's division is exhaustive. The positive check to population is
physical evil. The preventive checks are promiscuous intercourse and
abstinence from marriage. The first is moral evil; the second is,
with a very few exceptions, so few indeed that they do not affect the
result, founded on an apprehended deficiency of some of the things
to which we have gi_en the general appellation of wealth. All the
preventive and positive checks may therefore be distributed under
prudence, moral evil, and physical evil. We will first consider the
positive check.
We have seen that this check includes all the causes which tend,
in any way, prematurely to _horten the duration of human existence;
such as unwholesome occupations, severe labour, or exposure to the
seasons, bad or insufficient food or clothing, bad nursing of children,
excesses of all kinds, the corruption of the air from natural causes,
or from large towns, wars, infanticide, plague, and famine. Of these,
some arise from the laws of nature, and others from the crimes and
follies of man: all are directly and immediately felt in the form of
physical evil, though many of them are the result, more or less
remotely, of moral evil.
The final and irresistible mode in which physical evil operates is
the want of the necessaries of existence : death produced by hardship
or starvation. This is almost the only check to the increase of the
irrational animals; and as man descends towards their condition, he
falls more and more under its influence. In the lowest savage state
it is the principal and obvious check; in a high state of civilization it
is almost imperceptible; but is unperceived only in consequence of
the operation of its substitutes.
We have already stated that, as a general rule, additional labour
employed in the cultivation of the land, within a given &strict, produces
a less proportionate return. And it has appeared that such is the
power of reproduction and duration of life in mankind, that the popu-
lation of a given district is capable of doubling itself at least every
twenty-tlve years. It is clear, therefore, that the rate at which the
production of food is capable of being increased, and that at which
32 POPULATION.

population, if unchecked, would increase, are totally different. Every

addition made to the quantity of food periodically produced, makes in
generM a further periodical addition more difficult. Every addition
to the existing population diffuses wider the means of still further
addition. If neither evil, nor the fear of evil, checked the population
of England, it would amount in a century to above two hundred
millions. Suppose it possible that we might be able to raise or to
import the subsistence of two hundred millions of people ; is it possible
that one hundred and twenty-five years hence we should be able to
support four hundred millions ? or, in one hundred and fifty years,
eight hundred millions ? It is clear, however, that long before the
first century had elapsed, long before the period at which, if unchecked,
we should have attained two hundred millions, no excellence in our
institutions, or salubrity of climate, or unremitting industry, could
have saved us from being arrested in our progress by a constantly
increasing want of subsistence. If all other moral and physical
checks could be got rid of, if we had neither wars nor libertinism, if
our habitations, and employments, and habits were all wholesome,
and no fears of indigence or loss of station prevented or retarded our
marriages, famine would soon exercise her prerogative of controlling,
in the last resort, the multiplication of mdnkind.
But though it be certain that the absence of all other checks would
only give room for the irresistible influence of famine, it is equMly
certain that such a state of things never has existed and never will
exist.
In the first place the absence of all the other moral and physical
evils which retard population implies a degree of civilization not only
high, but higher than mankind have as yet enjoyed. Such a society
cannot be supposed to want sagacity sufficient to foresee the evils of a
too rapidly increasing population, and prudence sufficient to avoid
them. In such a state the preventive check would be in full opera-
tion, and its force is quite suflieient to render unnecessary even the
approach of any positive check.
And, secondly, it is impossible that a positive cheek, so goading
and so remorseless as famine, should prevail without bringing in her
train all the others. Pestilence is her uniform companion, and
murder and war are her followers. Whole bodies of men will not
tamely lie down to die, and witness, while they are perishing, their
wives, and children, and parents, starving around them. Where there
is a diversity of fortunes, famine generally produces that worst form
of civil war, the insurrection of the poor against therich. Among
uncivilized nations it produces those tremendous hostile migrations, in
which a whole people throws itself across a neighbouring frontier, and
either perishes in the attempt to obtain a larger or more fertile
territory, or destroys the former possessors, or drives them out to be
themselves aggressors in turn.
 POPULATION. 33

In fact, almost all the positive checks, by their mutual reaction,

have a tendency to create and aggravate one another; and the
destruction of thr,se who perish immediately by one, may generally be
found to have been remotely occasioned or promoted by one or more
of the others. Among nations imperfectly civilized, the widest and
the most wasting of the positive checks is predatory war. A district
exposed to it is likely to suffer all the others. Mere fear of invasion
must generally keep the great body of its inhabitants pent up in
crowded and consequently unwholesome towns ; it nmst confine their
cultivation to the fields in the immediate neiThbourhood of those
towns, and, if it does not destroy, must so much impede their com-
merce as to render it useless as a source of subsistence ; and when
the invasion does come, it is often followed by the complete extirp:ui_n
of the invaded community. This is the check which has kept Africa.
and the central part_ of Asia, in their comparatively unpeopled state.
In his journey from Abyssinia to Sennaar, Bruce crossed the terri-
tory of Atbara, subject to the incursions of the Davelna Arabs. The
whole seems to have been a scene of desolation. He passed a night
nt Garigara, a village, of which they bad destroyed the crops a year
before. The inhabitants had all perished with hunger, and their
remains were unburied and scattered over the ground where the
village had stood. The travellers eneamped among the bones: no
space could be found free from them. His next stage was Teawa.
" Its consequence," he observes, " was to rem,q_n only till the Davcin:,.
should resolve to attack it, when its corn fields being burnt and
destroyed in a night by a multitude of horsemen, the bones of its
inhabitants scattered upon the earth would be all its remains, like
those of the miserable village of Garigara."
Among the positive checks to the population of uncivilized, or
partially civilized, nations, the next in importance to war is famine.
When a people depends principally on that subsistence which is most
easily obtained, and such is the case among the nations in question,
the mere variations of the seasons must, from time to time, produce
destructive want. W]_ere society is better constituted, the evil of
these variations is mitigated, partly from the superfluity of the more
opulent classes, partly by importation, and principally by a recurrence
to a less expensive diet; but in a barbarous, and conseq,emly a
poor and non-commercial people, they are among the most frightful
forms of national calamity. The histories which we possess of such
Countries always particularize periods of dearth as among the most
memorable events reeorded. They seem in a constant oscillation
between the want endured by a population that has increased to the
utmost limits of subsistence, and the plenty enjoyed by the survivors
after that population has been thinned by war, pestilence, or famine.
The remainder of the positive checks, such as infanticide and unwhole-
someness of climate, habi:s, or situation, appear rather to facilitate
D
34 POPULATION.

early marriages than to produce any actual diminution, or prevent any

actual increase of population. Infanticide has been supposed to be
rather favourable to population, by opposing to the prudential cheek
to marriage a mode of disposing of its offspring, which may appear
easy in contemplation, but from which the feelings of the parents
eventually recoil. The unwholesomeness of some districts is unques-
tionably such as to keep them totally unpeopled, or inhabited by
strangers, whose numbers must be constantly recruited. Such, for
instance, appears to be the case ill the most unhealthy parts of Italy.
Such is the case with large manufacturing towns even in the most
favourable climates, unless _-reat skill and _reat care are directed
towards their cleanliness and ventilation. And ill a newly colonized
Country' like the back settlements of America, where the abundance
of land and the constantly increasing means of subsistence would
render any preventive cheek unnecessary, any cause diminishing lon-
gevity must retard increase. But with these exceptions, unhealthiness
rather causes the successive generations to pass more rapidly away,
than diminishes the actual number of inhabitants. In some of the
healthiest districts of Switzerland, the average annual mortality does
not exceed one in forty-eight. In many of the marshy villages of
Holland it exceeds one in twenty-three. But it would be rash to
expect the population of the former to be more dense or to increase
more rapidly than that of the latter. The case is, in fact, the
reverse. In the Swiss villages of which we have been speaking, the
births are as rare as the dearies ; the population is thin and stationary.
Among the Dutch the births somewhat exceed the deaths; the popu-
lation is dense and is increasing. It is obvious, indeed, that the
proportion of annual births to the whole number of people being given,
the rate of increase must depend on the proportion borne by the
annual deaths. And again, the proportion of deaths to the whole
number of people being given, it must depend on the proportion borne
by the births; or, to use a shorter form of expression--given the
longevity, it must depend on the fecundity; and given the fecundity, it
must depend on the longevity. If both are given, the rate of increase
may be calculated ; but from only one, the conclusion must be in the
disjunctive. If the annual births bear a large proportion to the
existing number of people, we may conclude either that the population
is rapidly increasing, or that the positive checks are in powerful
operation. On the other hand, from a small proportion of annual
deaths may be inferred either a rapid increase of numbers, or a
strong influence of the preventive checks. The average duration of
life i_l England is greater than in the United States of America ; but
so much greater is the force of the preventive checks, that the rate of
increase in America is about double that in England. Again, the
average duration of life in the Swiss villages to which we have "
referred, is the same as it is in England ; but the _reventive check in
 POPULATION. 3

England, strong as it appears when compared with its force in

America, is so much weaker than it is in some districts in Switzer-
land, that, with the same annual mortality, the population is in the
one Country stationary, in the other rapidly progressive.
But although the average longevity in a Country affords no decisive
evidence as to the increasing or stationary number of its inhabitants,
it is among the least deceitful tests of their prosperity; far less so
than that on which legislators formerly relied, the number of births.
There is not an evil, moral or physical, which has not a tendency,
directly or indirectly, to shorten life, but there are ma_y which have
a direct tendency to increase fecundity. The extraordinary duration
of life in Great Britain, exceeding, as it does, the average of any
other equally populous district, is a convincing proof of the general
excellence of our climate, our institutions, and our habits.
We now proceed to consider the preventive checks to the increase
of population. We have seen that they are Promiscuous Intercourse
and Abstinence from Marriage.
The first does not appear to be of sufficient importance to require
much consideration. It is said to produce some effect in checking the
increase of the higher classes in some of the South Sea lslands; and
it appears to have produced the same effect, to a considerable e_tent
among the West Indian negroes. :But the nobility of the South
Seas scarcely deserve to be separately considered. And, while the
other forms of moral and physical evil were accumulated, as they
were among the West Indian slaves, it is probable that the removal
of this evil alone would have done little to promote the increase of
their population.
But, with these exceptions, there are scarcely any females whose
fecundity is prevented or diminished by promiscuous intercourse,
except those unhappy individuals whose only trade is prostitution.
And they form so small a proportion of the population of the whole
world, that the cheek to population, occasioned by their unfruitfulness
may safely be disregarded.
The only remaining check is Abstinence from Marriage. Our
readers are of course aware that, by the word "marriage," we mean
¢o express not the peculiar and permanent connection which alone, in
a Christian Country, is entitled to that name, but any agreement
between a man and woman to cohabit under circumstances likely to
occasion the birth of progeny. We have already observed that
abstinence from marriage is almost uniformly founded on the appre-
hension of a deficiency of some of the things which we have denomi-
nated by the general term Wealth, or, in other words, on prudence.
Some cases certainly occur in which men remain unmarried, although
their fortunes are so ample that the expenses of a family would be
unperceived. But the number of persons so situated is so small,
that they create an exception which would scarcely deserve attention,
36 POPULATION.

even if this conduct were as common among them as it is, in fact,

rare.
We shall scarcely, therefore, be led into error, if, in considering the
preventive checks, we confine our attention to Prudence, and assume
that, as nothing but physical evil directly and immediately diminishes
the longevity of mankind, nothing but an apprehended deficiency of
some of the articles of wealth prevents their fecundity.
But though an apprehended deficiency of some of the articles of
wealth is substantially the only preventive check to the increase of
population, it is obvious that fear of the want of different articles
operates, with all men, very differently : and even that an apprehended
want of the same article will affect differently the minds of the indi-
viduals of different classes. An apprehended want of corn would
produce on the minds of all Englishmen a very different effect from
an apprehended want of silk. An apprel_ended want of butcher's
meat would affect very differently the minds of Englishmen of differ-
ent classes. It appears to us, therefore, convenient to divide, for
this purpose, the articles of wealth into the three great classes of
Necessaries, Decencies, and Luxuries, and to explain the different
effects produced by the fear of the want of the articles of wealth
falling under each class. We must begin, however, by stating, as
precisely as we can, what we mean by the words .¥eccssaries, Dece_zcies,
and Lu_*rles; terms which have been used ever since the Moral
Sciences first attracted attention, but with little attention to precision
or to consistent use.
It is scarcely necessary to remind our readers that these are relative
terms, and that some person must always be assigned with reference
to whom a given commodity or service is a Luxury, a Decency, or a
Necessary.
By Necessaries, then, we express those things, the use of which is
requisite to keep a given individual in the health and strength essential
to his going through his habitual occupations.
By Decencies, we express those things which a given individual must
use in order to preserve his existing rank in society.
Every thing else of which a given individual makes use, or, in
other words, all that portion of his consumption which is not essential
to his health and strength, or to the preservation of his existing rank
in society, we term Luxury.
It is obvious that when consumed by the inhabitants of different
Countrie% or even by different individuals in the same Country, the
same things may be either luxuries, decencies, or necessaries.
Shoes arc necessaries to all the inhabitants of England. Our
habits are such that there is not an individual whose health would not
suffer from the want of them. To the lowest class of the inhabitants
of Scotland they are luxuries: custom enables them to go barefoot
without inconvenience and without degradation. When a Scotchman
 POPULATION. 37

rises fi'om the lowest to the middling classes of society, they become
to him decencies. He wears them to preserve, not his feet, but his
station in life. To the highest class, who have been accustomed to
them from infancy, they are as much necessaries as they are to all
classes iu England. To the higher classes in Turkey wine is aluxury
and tobacco a decency. In Europe it is the reverse. The Turk
drinks and the European smokes, not in obedience, but in opposition
both to the rules of health and to the forms of society. But wine in
:Europe and the pipe in Turkey are among the refreshments to which
a guest is entitled, and which it would be as indecent to refuse in the
one Country as to offer in the other.
It has been said that the coal-hearers and lishtermen, and some
others among the hardworking London labourers, could not support
their toils without the stimulus of porter. If this be true, porter is
to them a necessary. To all others it is a luxury. A carriage is a
Decency to a woman of fashion, a Necessary to a physician, and a
Luxury to a tradesmen.
The question, whether a given commodity is to be considered as a
decency or a luxury, is obviously one to which no answer can be
given, unless the place, the time, and the rank of tbe individual using
it be specified. The dress which in England was only decent a hundred
years ago, would be almost extravagant now, while the house and
furniture which now would afford merely decent accommodation to a
gentleman, would then have been luxurious for a peer. The causes
which entitle a commodity to be called a necessary are more perma-
nent and more general. _?hey depend partly upon the habits in which
the individual in question has been brought up, partly on the nature
of his occupation, on the lightness or the severity of the labours and
hardships that he has to undergo, and partly on the climate in which
he lives.
Of these causes we have illustrated the two first by the familiar
examples of shoes and porter. But the principal cause is climate.
The fuel, shelter, and raiment, which are essential to a Laplander's
existence, would he worse than useless under the Tropics. And as
habits and occupations are very slowly changed, and climate suffers
scarcely any alteration, the commodities which are necessary to the
different classes of the inhabitants of a given district may, and gener-
ally do, remain for centuries unchanged, while their decencies and
luxuries are continually varying.
Among all classes the check imposed by an apprehended deficiency
of mere luxuries is but slight. The motives, perhaps we might say
the instincts, that prompt the human race to marriage, are too power-
ful to be much restrained by the fear of losing conveniences uneon-
neeted with health or station in society. Nor is population much
retarded by the fear of wanting mere necessaries. In comparatively
uncivili-ed Countries, in which alone, as we have already seen, that
 38 POPULATIOlq.

want is of a familiar occurrence, the preventive check has little opera-

tion. They see the danger, but want prudence and self-denial to be
influenced by it. On the other hand, among nations so far advanced
in civilization as to be able to act on such a motive, the danger that
any given person or his future family shall actually perish from indi-
g'ence, appears too remote to afford any general rule of conduct.
The great preventive check is the fear of losing decencies, or, what
is nearly the same, the hope to acquire, by the accumulation of
longer celibacy, the means of purchasing the decencies which give :,
higher social rank. When an Englishman stands hesitating between
love and prudence, a family actually starving is not among his terrors;
_gainst actual want he knows that he has the fence of the poor-laws.
But however humble his desires, he cannot contemplate without
:mxlety a probability that the income which supported his social rank,
while single, may be insufficient to maintain it when he is married ;
_hat he may be unable to give to his children the advantages of edu-
cation which he enjoyed himself ; in short that he may 1ube his caste.
Men of more enterprise are induced to postpone marriage, not merely
by the fear of sinking, but also by the hope that in an unincmnbered
_tate they may rise. As they mount, the horizon of their ambition
l:eeps receding, until sometimes the time has passed for realizing
those plans of domestic happiness which probably every man has
formed in his youth.
I_ is by this desire of decencies, as distinguished from necessaries,
that long-settled e_vilized Countries are preserved from the evils of a
population greatly exceeding the means of comfortable subsistence.
There are few triter subjects of declamation than the contrast between
ancient simplicity and modern luxury. Few virtues, however useful,
have received more applause than the contented and dignified poverty,
the indifference to distday, and the abstinence frmn unnecessary
expense, which all refined na*,io,as attribute to their ancestors. Few
vices, however mischievous, have been more censured them the osten-
tations expenditure which every succeeding generation seems to co'_-
sider its own characteristic.
It certainly seems at first s;ght that habits of unnecessary expendi-
ture, as they have a tendency to diminish the wealth of an individual.
must have the same effect on the wealth of a nation. And, separately
considered, it appears clear that each act of unproductive consump-
tion, whatever gratification it may afford to the consumer, must, pro
ta_to, impoverish the community. It is so much taken from the
common stock and destroyed. And as the national capital is formed
from the aggregate savings of individuals, it is certain that ff each
individual were to expend to the utmost extent of his means, the
whole capital of the Country would be gradually wasted away, and
general misery would be the result. But it appears equally certain
that if each individual were to confine his expenditure to mere
 POPULATION. 39

necessaries, the result would be misery quite as general and as

intevse.
We have seen that the powers of population, if not restrained by
prudence, must inevitably produce almost ever)- form of moral ancl
physical evil. In the case which we are supposing, the wants of
society would be confined to the fo,,d, raiment, and shelter essential
to the support of existence; and they wot,ld all consist of the cheapest
materials. At present, among civilized nations, the cultivation of the
land employs ouly a portion of its inhabitants, aM, generally speakb_g,
as a nation increases in wealth, a smaller and smaller proportion ; in
England not .ne third ; and a great part of the labourers so employed
are producers of luxuries, lndecd, as potatoes afford a food five or
six times as abundant a_ corn, m_d more than twe.ty times as abun.
dant as meat, and, a_ far as can be judged by the appearance and
powers of the lower Irish, quite as wholes.me, meat and corn may be
considered luxuries, to tht_ extent in which they are more expensive
than potatoes. Nor, eo,Mstentlv with the existence of private pro-
perty, and of the desire of wealth, can the mode of cultivation be
directed to the obtaining the largest possible re_urn. The olOect is
to obtain the largest return that i_ consistent wid_ profitable farmin,";
but, in the pursui_ of this object, quantity of produce must often be
sacrificed to economy of' labour or time.
If there were no desire for any thing beyond necessaries, both the
existing partition of the land. and the existing division of labour, would
be varied. 5"o family would wish to occupy more land them the small
plot necessary to aff(_rd them potatoes a,:d milk. Supposing them to
give to it the utmost nicety of garden cuhivation, _ts management
would still leave them time to produce the coarse manure.crates
necessal_- for their own use. The whole of the populati,)n would be
agricultural. 7G1,3-i$ families so empl%cd at present in En7land,
although their labour is far fl'om being directed to the production of
the greatest possible am_mnt, p¢ovidc, without much assistance f,'or.
importation, subsistence for the whole of our 2.4o.oo(i families. If
all were so employed, and if quantity of produce were their sole
object, it is probable that in ordinarv seasons the soil of England,
instead of fifteen millions, could feed at least sixty millinns of people;
and that of Europe, instead of two hundred, eight hundred millions.
And that, in the absence of any checks more powerful than those
experienced in the United States of America, the population of
Enrope might in fifty years amount to ei_o-hthundred millions indeed
it is probable that, under the circumstances which we are supposing,
the increase in Europe would be for a considerable time rather me,re
rapid than that which has taken place in America. Preventive checks
would not exist; marriages could not be hindered or even delayed by
prudence, since there eould be no reason to anticipate want; the habit
of early marriages would put an end to profligacy; and, as all our
40 POPULATION.

habits would be eminently healthy, the positive checks would be

reduced to their minimum.
So far the picture is rather pleasing; it exhibits a state of society,
not rich certainly, nor refined, but supporting a very numerous popu-
lation in health and strength, and in the full enjoyment of the many
sources of happiness connected with early marriage. But it is obvious
fliat this could not last for ever; it could not last indeed for two
hundred and fifty years. By that time the population of Europe
would amount to above three million millions, a number which the
wildest imagination cannot conceive capable of existing simultaneously
in tile whole earth.
Sooner or later, therefore, the increase must be checked; and we
have seen that prudence is the only check that does not involve vice
or misery. But such is the force of the passions which prompt to
marriage, and such is each mall's reliance on his own good conduct
and good fortune, that the evils, whatever they may be, the appre-
hension of which forms the prudential check, are freciuently incm'red.
Where that evll is the loss of luxuries, or even of decencies, it is
trifling in the first case, and bearable in the second. But in the
case which we are supposing, the only prudential cheek would be an
apprehended deficiency of necessaries; and that deficiency, in the
many instances in which it would actually be lucre'red, _ould be ths
positive check in its most frightful form. It would be incurred not
only in consequence of that miscalculation of chances to which all
men are subject, and certainly those noL the least so who are anxious
to marry, but through accidents against which no human prudence
can guard. A single bad harvest may be provided against, but a
succession of unfavourable seasons (and such successions do occur)
must reduce such a people to absolute famine. When such seasons
affect a nation indulging in considerable superfluous expenditure, they
are relieved by a temporary sacrifice of that superfluity. The grain
consumed in ordinary years by our breweries and distilleries is a store
always at hand to supply a scarcity, and the same may be said of
the large quantity of food raised for the support of domestic animals,
but applicable to human subsistence. To these resources may be
added the importation from abroad of necessaries instead of luxuries
and the materials of luxury, of corn, for instance, instead of wine.
It may be said, however, and indeed it has been said, that while
the globe remains in its present irregularly occupied and irregularly
cultivated state, emigration affords to all comparatively thickly-peopled
nation_ a resource so ample and so easy as to render every prudential
check to population unnecessary.
It is obvious that if capital and skill equal to those bestowed on
the best parts of/_3anders, or of the Scotch Lowlands, could be applied
to the whole habitable world, a population ten times, perhaps one
hundred times, perhaps even five hundred times as large, could be
 POPULATION. 41

maintained, as well, perhaps far better, than the one thousand millions
now supposed to exist on its surface. It _s possible, we will not say
even that it is improbable, that in the course of centuries, or rather
of hundreds of centuries, these splendid visions may be realized.
But all experience shows, that no numerous and civilized nation,
surrounded by other civilized nations, can venture to rely on emigra-
tion as a permanent and adequate cheek to population. We say no
numerous and civilized nation surrounded by other civilized nations;
for we are aware that the hordes of Central Asia and of the _'orthern
parts of Europe, and tile surplus inhabitants of some smail communities,
such as the petty States of ancient Greece and Phoenicia, appear to
have found, the one in colonization, the others iu armed migrations,
a periodical outlet; and that the Americans of European descent have
enjoyed for centuries, and for centuries to come may enjoy, in the
immense continent behind them, room for as rapid an increase of
their numbers as the most unchecked propagation can supply. But
these are not examples which Europe, as now constituted, can imitate.
When all the land fi'ontier is appropriated,--when invasion for the
purpose of settlement is impossible, and the solitary traveller is
repelled by a different language, different laws, different arts, and
often a different religion,--wheu the other alternative is an expensive
and distant vo3age , and either an un._ettled, and therefore in general
an unwholesome country, or eqm,1 obstacles from variations of laws,
language, religion, and arts, in a previously settled district,--when
these are the difficulties to be encountered, no extensive and systematic
emigration will be persisted in. Even the different parts of the same
empire afford little assistance to one another, if difference of language,
or habits, or considerable distance be interposed. The Austrian
dominio,,s cont_dn some of the most thinly and some of the most _hickly-
peopled portions of Europe; but Itungary is not colonized flom the
plains of Lombardy. If any European nation could hope to make
emigration a complete substitute for prudence, that hope might be
entertained by the inhabitants of the British Islands. We have the
command of unoccupied continents in each hemisphere, the largest
navy that the world ever saw to convey us to them, the largest capital
timt ever has been accumulated, to defray the expense, and a popula-
tion remarkable not merely for enterprise, but for enterprise of this
particular description. These advantages we have enjoyed for
centuries; almost from the times of the Tudors we have possessed
a large outskirt of empire far exceeding in extent our European
possessions. And yet during this long period how little effect has
emigrat,on produced on our numbers ! The swarms which we have
sent out, and which we now send out, seem to be instantaneously
replaced. We have founded one empire, and probably shall found
many; but, after once a colony has been planted, its principal
increase arises_ not from the comparatively scanty recruits _'hom
42 POPULATION.

it receives from home, but from the unrepressed force of human

fecundity.
In a future portion of this Treatise we shall explain with more
detail the causes which impede emigra'.ion; at present we shall only
repeat that all experience shows its inability to keep down the popula-
tion of any large, well peopled, and tolerably civilized Country, such
as Europe, China, or tIindostan. It appears, therefore, that habits
of prudence in contracting marriage, and of considerable superfluous
expenditure, afford the only permanent protection against a population
pressin_ so closely on the mean_ of subsistence as to be continually
incurring the misery of the positive cheeks. And as the former
habits exist only in a civilized, and the latter only in an opulent
society, it appears equally clear that, as a nation advanees in civiliza-
tion and opulence, the positive checks are likely to be superseded by
the preventive. If this be true, the evil of a redundant population,
or, to speak more intelligibly, of a population too numerous to be
adequately and regularly supplied with necessaries, is likely to diminish
in the progress of improvement. As wealth increases, _:hat were the
luxuries of one 2"eneration become the deeeucies of their successors.
Not only a taste f,,r additional comfort and convenience, but a feeling
of degradation in their absence, becomes more and more widely
diffused. The increa,c iu many respects of the productive powers of
labour must en,ble increased comforts to be enjoyed by increased
numbers; and as it is the more beneficial, so it appears to be the
more natural course of events that increased comfort should not only
accompany but rather precede increaee of numbers.
But although we t)elieve that, as civilization advances, the pressure
of population on subsistence is a decreasing evil, we are far from
denying the prevalence of this pressure in all long-settled Countries;
indeed iu all Countr;es except th()se which are the seats of colonies
apptyin_ the knowledge of an old C.untry to an unoccupied territory.
We heheve that there are few portions of Europe the inhabitants of
which would not now be richer if their numbers were fewer, and would
not be richer hereafter if they were now to retard the rate at which
their population is hwreasing. No plan for social improvement can
be complete unless it embrace the means both of increasing the pro-
duction of weahh and of"preventing population from making a propor-
tionate advance. The former is to be effccted by legislative, the
latter by individual prudence and forethought. The former must be
brought about by the governing classes of society; the latter depends
almost entirely on the lower. As a means of improvement, the latter
is, on the whole, more efficient. It may be acted upon or neglected
by almost every one. But, in the present state of public opinion and
of commercial and fiscal policy in Europe, perhaps a greater progress
may be made by insisting on the former. The statesman who neglects
either considers only a portion of the subject.
 POPULATION. 43

But we must admit that ours are not the received opinions; or
perhaps we ought to say, that our statement is opposed, on the one
side or on the other, to the language used by almost every writer who
has directly treated the subject of population. Almost every Econo-
mist will be found, in that part of his writings in which what has been
called the prbTc_le of population is the immediate and principal
question considered, to range himself under one of two hostile banners,
each opposed not only to the other, but also to the doctrines which wo
have endeavoured to explain. On one side arc those who believe that
an increase of numbers is necessarily accompanied, not merely by a
positive, but by a relative increase of productive power; that density
of population is the cau__eand the test of prosperity; and that, " were
every nation under the sun to be relcased from all the natural and
artifi'eial checks on their increase, and to start off breeding at the
fastest possible rate, many, very many generations must elapse before
any necessary pressure could be felt." 1,
On the other side are those who maintain that population has a ten-
dency (using the word tendency to express likelihood or probability)
to increase beyond the means of subsistence; or, in other words, ttmt,
whatever be the existing means of subsistence, population is hkely
fully to come up to them, and even to struggle to pass beyond them.
a,d is kept back principally by the vice and misery which thas
struggle must produce.
The whole of our previous remarks afford an answer to the first.
mentioned class of writers. We shall not therefore recur to them.
The opinions of the other class we shall consider at some length; and
we will begin by the following quotations from Mr. M'Culloch, Mr.
Mill, and Mr. Malthus.
Among the valuable notes which Mr. M'Culloch has appended to
his edition of the IVca[th of Nations. one of thc most inte,'cstmg treats
of population; and one of the objects of that note is to show that the
population of the United States of America cann:_t continue to increase
for al_y very considerab)e period at the rate at which it has increased
during the last hundred years. _Ve are perfectly convinced of the
correctness of this anticipation; and we make the following extract,
not with any intention to oppose Mr. M'Culloch's opinions as to
America, but because we are anxious to express our dissent to the
form in which he lays down the general doctrine of population.
"It may be said, perhaps," says Mr. M'Culloch, " that allowance
must tm made for the effects of the improvements which may be sup-
posed to take place in agrieultm'al science in the progress of society,
or ths possible introduction, at some future period, of new and more
prolific species of crops. But it is easy to see that the influence of
such improvements and changes must, supposing them to be realized

J4Scrope,Principlesof PolitlcalEconomy,1853_p. 276.

44 POPULATION.

in the fullest manner, he of very temporary duration; and that it

cannot affect the truth of the principle, that the power of increase in
thehuman species must always, in the long run, l_rove an overmatch for
the increase in the _neans of subsislcnce. Suppose by some extraordi-
nary improvement the quantity of food and other articles required for
the subsistence and accommodation of man annually produced in Great
Britain were suddenly doubled ; the condition of all classes being in
consequence signally improved, there would be less occasion for the
exercise of moral restraint; the period of marriage would therefore be
accelerated, and such a powerful stimulus would be given to the prin-
cipte of increase, that in a very short period the population would be
again on a level with the means of subsistence ; and there would also,
owing to the change that must have been made in the habits of the
people with respect to marriage, during the period that the population
was rising to the level of the increased supply of food, be an extreme
risk lest it should become too abundant, and produce an increased rate
of mortality. Although, therefore, it is not possible to assign any cer-
tain limits to the progress of improvement, it is notwithstanding evi-
dent that it cannot continue for any considerable period to advance in
the same proportion that population would advance supposing food
were abundantly supplied. The circumstance of inferior lands, which
require a greater outlay of capital and labour to make them yield the
same supply as those that are superior bei,_g invariably taken into
cultivation in the progress of society, demonstrates, what is otherwise
indeed sufficiently obvious to every one, that, in despite of improve-
ments, the difficulty of adding to the supplies of food is progressively
augmented as population becomes denser."
Mr. Mill's views are to be found in his discussion of wages. Prin-
clp/es, &c. Ch. ii. s. 2. "If it were," he observes, "the natural ten-
dency of capital (by which term Mr. Mill designates the instruments
of labour, the materials on which they are to be employed, when pro-
duced by labour, and the subsistence of the labourer) to increase faster
than population, there would be no difficulty in preserving the pros-
perous condition of the people. If, on the other hand, it were the
natural tendency of population to increase faster than capital, the
difficulty would be very great. There would be a perpetual tendency
in wages to fall; the progressive fall of wages would produce a
greater and a greater degree of poverty among the people, attended
with its inevitable consequences, misery and vice. As poverty, and
its consequent misery, increased, mortality would also increase: of a
numerous family born, a certain number only, from want of the
means of well-being, would be reared. By whatever proportion the
population tended to increase faster than capital, such a proportion of
those who were born would die; the ratio of increase in capital and
population would then remain the same, and the fall of wages would
proceed no further. t_That population has a tendency to increaso
 POPULATION. 45

faster than, inmost places, capital has actually increased, is proved

incontestably by the condition of the population in most parts of the
globe. In almost all Countries the condition of the great body of the
people is poor and miserable. This would have been impossible, if
capital had increased faster than population. In that case wages
must have risen; and high wages would have placed the labourer
above the miseries of want. This general misery of mankind is a
fact which can be accounted for upon one only of two suppositions:
either that there is a natural tendency in population to increase faster
than capital, or that capital has, by some means, been prevented from
increasing so fast as it has a tendency to increase. This, therefore,
is an inquiry of the highest importance."
As the result of that inquiry, Mr. Mill decides the second alterna-
tive in the negative; and consequently conceives himself to have
established the former, namely, that there is a natural tendency in
population to increase faster than capital.
Hr. Malthus's opinions appear to have been considerably modified
during the course of his long and brilliant philosophical career. In
his first edition of his great Work, the principle of population was
represented as an insurmountablo obstacle to the permanent welfare
of the mass of mankind. And even in the last edition, the follo_-ing
passages are open to the same construction.
"There are few States in which there is not a constant effort in
the population to increase beyond the means of subsistence. This
constant effort as constantly tends to subject the lower classe_ of
society to distress, and to prevent any great permanent amelioration
of tLeir condition. These effects, in the present state of society,
seem to be produced in the following manner:--We will suppose the
means of subsistence in any country to be just equal to the easy support
of its inhabitants. The constant effort towards population, which is
found to act even in the most vicious societies, increases the number
of people before the means of subsistence are increased. The food,
therefore, which before supported eleven millions, must now be
divided between eleven millions and a-half. The poor consequently
must live much worse, and many of them be reduced to severe dis-
tress. The number of labourers also being above the proportion of
work in the market, the price of labour must tend to fall, wh_% the
price of provisions would at the same time tend to rise. The labourer
therefore must do more work to earn the same than he did before.
During this season of distress the discouragements to marriage and
the difficulty of rearing a family are so great that the progress of
population is retarded. In the mean time the che._pness of labour,
the plenty of labourers, and the necessity of an increased industry
amongst them, encourage cnhivators to employ more labour upou
their land, to turn up fresh soil, and to manure ahd improve more
completely what is already in tillage, till ultimately the means of
443 POPULATION.

subsistence may become in the same proportion to the population as at

the period from which we set out. The situation of the labourer being
then again tolerably comfortable, the restraints to population are in
some degree loosened; and after a short period the same retrograde
and progressive movements with respect to happiness, are repeated."
Population, Book i. Chap. it. " According to the principle of popu-
lation the human race has a tendency to increase faster than food.
It has, therefore, a constant tendenc!/ to people a Country fully up
to the limits of subsistence; meaning, by these limits, the lowest
quantity of food which will maintain a stationary population." Book
iii. Chap. i. note.
But when the opposite doctrine, namely, that, in the absence of
disturbing causes, subsistence is likely to increase more rapidly than
population, was brought before him by 5Jr. Senior, he appears to
have disavowed, we will not say his former expressions, but the infer-
ences to which they lead.
"The meaning," says M_r. Malthus, " which I intended to convey
by the expression to which you object" (that population has a ten-
dency to increase faster than fond) " was, that population was always
ready and inclined to increase f_ster thau food, if the checks which
repressed it were removed; and that though these checks might be
such as to prevent population from advancing upon subsistence, or
even to keep it at a greater distance behind, yet that, whether popu-
lation were actually increasing faster than food or food faster than
population, it was true that except in new colonies, favourably cir-
cumstanced, population was always pressing against food, and was
always ready to start off at a faster rate than that at which the food
• " o" 1,
was actually increasing,.
" We are quite agreed that, in the capacity of reason and fore-
thought, man is endowed with a power naturally calculated to miti-
gate the evils occasioned by the pressure of population against food.
We are further agreed that, in the progress of society, as education
and knowledge are extended, the probability is that these evils will
practically be mitigated, aud the condition of the labouring classes be
improved." L_
So explained, Mr. Malthus's opinions are opposed to the expressions
of Mr. Mill and Mr. M'Culloch; iris admission that, "in the progress
of society, the probability is that the evils occasioned by the pressure
of population against food will be mitigated," is opposed to Mr.
M'Culloeh's statement, "tbat the power of increase in the human
species must always, in the long run, prove an overmatch for the
increase in the means of subsistence;" and to :Mr. Mill's, "that the
tendency of population to increase faster than, in most places, capital
has actually increased, is proved incontestably by the condition of the

1_Appendixto Senior'sLectureson Population,p. 61--82.

 POPULATION. 47

population in most parts of the globe." Archbishop Whately, with

his usual acuteness, has in the following passage traced the question
to a verbal ambiguity.
"The doctrine, that, since there is a tendency in population to
increase faster than the means of subsistence, hence the pressure of
population against subsistence may be expected to become greater
and greater in each successive generation, (unless new and extraor-
dinary remedies are resorted to,) and thus to produce a progressive
diminution of human welfare--this doctrine, which some maintain in
defiance of the fact that all civilized Countries have a greater propor-
tionate amount of wealth now than formerly, may be traced chiefly to
an undetected ambiguity in tile word ' tendency,' which forms a part
of the middle term of the aJ_ument. Bv_ a 'tendency' towards a
certain result is sometimes meant, the existence of a cause which,
operating unimpeded, would produce that result. In this sense it may
be said, with truth, that the earth, or any other body moving round a
centre, has a tendency to fly off at a tangeut; ('i.e.) the centrifugal
force operates in that direction, though it is controlled by the cen-
tripetal; or, again, that man has a greater tendency to fall prostrate
than to stand erect; (i.c.) the attraction of gravitation and the posi-
tion of the centre of gravity arc such that the least breath of air
would overset him, but for the voluntary exertion of muscular
force: and, again that population has a tendency to increase beyond
subsistence; (i.e.) there arc in man propensities which, if unrestrained,
lead to that result.
"But sometimes, again, 'a tendency towards a certain result' is
understood to mean ' the existence of such a state of things that that
result may be expected to take place.' Now it is in these two senses
that the word is used, in the two premises of the argument in ques-
tion. But "n this latter sense, the earth has a greater tendency to
remain in its orbit than to fly off from it; man has a greater tendency to
stand erect than to fall prostrate ; and (as may be proved by comparing
a more barbarous with a more civilized period in the history of any
Country) in the progress of Society, subsistence has a tendency to
increase at a greater rate than population. In this Country, for
instance, much as our population has increased within the last five
centuries, it yet bears a far less ratio to subsistence (though still a
much greater than could be wished) than it did five hundred years
ago. _ 16

It is obvious that if the present state of the world, compared with

its state at our earliest records, be one of relative poverty, the ten-
dency of population to increase more rapidly than subsistence must
be admitted. If the means of subsistence continue to bear precisely
the same proportion to the number of its inhabitants, it is clear that

_6ArchbishopWhately, Lccturegon PvliticalEconomy'. Lecture9.

48 POPULATION.

the increase of subsistence and of numbers has been equa|. If its

means of subsistence have increased much more than the number of
its inhabitants, it is clear not only that the proposition in question is
false, but that the contrary proposition is true, and that the means of
subsistence have a natural tendency (using these words as expressing
what is likely to take place) to increase faster than population. Now
what is the picture presented by the earliest records of those nations
which are now civilized, or, which is the same_ what is now the state
of savage nations ?--a state of habitual poverty and occasional famine.
A scanty population, but still scantier means of subsistence. Admit-
ting, and it must be admitted, that in almost all Countries the con-
dition of the great body of the people is pool" and miserable, yet, as
poverty and misery were their original inheritance, what inference
can we draw from the continuance of that misery as to the tendency
of their numbers to increase more rapidly than their wealth ? But i_f
a single Country can be found in which there is now less poverty than
is universal ill a savage state, it must be true that, under the circum-
stances in which that Country has been placed, the means of subsis-
tence have a greater tendency to increase than the population. Now
tb_s is the case in every civilized Country. Even Ireland, the
Country most likely to afford an instance of what has been called the
tendency of things, poor and populous as she is, suffers le._ from want
with her eight millions of people than when her only inhabitants were
a few septs of hunters and fishers. In our own early history, famines,
and pestilences, the consequences of famine, constantly recur. At
present, though our numbers are trebled or quadrupled, they are
unheard of.
The United States of America afford the best ascertained instance
of great and continued increase of nmnbers. They have afforded a
field in which the powers of population have been allowed to exhaust
their energy; but, though exerted to their utmost, they have not as
vet equalled the progress of subsistence. Whole colonies of the first
settlers perished from absolute w._nt; their succeTsors struggled long
against hardship and privation; but every increase of their number
seems to have bceu accompanied or preceded by increased means of
support. If it be conceded that there exists in the human race a
natural tendency to advance from barbarism to civilization, and that
the means of suiosisteuce are proportionably more abundant in a civil-
ized tbau in a savage state, and neither of these proposition_ can be
denied, it must follow that there is a natural tendency in subsistence
to increase in a greater ratio than population.
But although Mr. _lalthus himself, in his earlier publications, has
perhaps fallen sometimes into the ezsggeration which is natural to a
discoverer, the error, if he has committed one, does not affect the
practical conclusions which place him, as a benafactor to mankind, on
a level with Adam Smith. Whether, in the absence of disturbing
 POPULATION. 49

causes, it be the tendency of subsistence or of population to advance

with greater rapidity, is a question of slight importance, if it be
acknowledged that human happiness or misery depends principally on
their relative advance, and that there are causes, and causes within
human control, by which that advance can be regulated. These are
propositions which Mr. Malthus has established by facts and reason-
ing which, opposed as they were to long-rooted prejudice, and assailed
by every species of sophistry and clamour, are now admitted by the
majority of reasoners, and even by a large majority of those who take
their opinions upon trust.
To explain what are the causes of the relative increase of subsistence
and population is rather the business of a writer on politics than of a
Political Economist. At present we will only say that knowledge,
security of property, freedom of internal and external exchange, and
equal admissibility to rank and power, are the principal causes which
at the same time promote the increase of subsistence, and, by elevat-
ing the character of the people, lead them to keep at a slower rate
the increase of their numbers. And that restrictions on exchange
and commerce, artificial barriers excluding the great majority of the
community from the chance of social eminence, and above all, igno-
rance, and inseenrity of person and property, are the general causes
which both diminish the productiveness of labour, and tend to produce
that brutal state of improvidence in which the power of increase,
unchecked by prudence, is always struggling to pass the limits of
subsistence, and is kept down only by vice and misery. We use the
expression _qe_wralcauses, to exclude those causes which, being pecu-
liar to certain nations, require separate consideration. Such are the
superstitious desire of offspring in China, the political motives which
formerly occasioned the creation of freeholders in Ireland, and the
administration of the poor-laws in some parts of England. But,
omitting these details, it may be generally stated that all that degrades
the character, or diminishes the productive power of a people, tends
to diminish the proportion of subsistence to population, and zqce z_'sd.
And consequently that a population increasing more rapidly than the
means of subsistence is generally speaking, a sympton of misgovern-
ment indicating deeper-seated evils, of which it is only one of the
results.
And, notwithstanding the passages which we have cited, we believe
these to be also the opinions of Mr. Mill and of Air. M'Culloeh. We
believe that neither of these eminent writers doubts that the situation
of the inhabitants of Europe has been gradually impro_'ing during the
last 500 years. We believe that neither of tlmm considers the
improvement as having reached ks limit, or as havi,g any definite
limit whatever. When they speak of the probable destinies of
mankind, they teach the same doctrine as oursel_'es. It is only
when separately discussing the subject of population that they have
50 PRODUCTION.

used the language to which we have ventured to object. We

believe that they have used it without being misled by it them-
selves, and, perhaps on that very account, without perceiving its
tendency to mislead others. :But that those whose acquaintance with
Political Economy is superficial (and they form the great mass of
even the educated classes) have been misled by the form in which
the doctrine of population has been expressed, appears to us undeni-
able. When such persons are tohl that "it is the tendency of the
human race to increase faster than food"--" to people a country fully
up to the means of subsistence," they infer that what has a tendency
to happen is to be expected. Because additlondl population may bring
poverty, they suppose that it necessarily u'ill do so: because increased
means of subsistence may be f(dlowed" and neutralized by a propor-
tionate increase in the number of persons to be subsisted, they suppose
that such will necessarily be the case. And unhapp,ly there are
many whom indolence, or selfishness, or a turn to despondency, make
ready recipients of such a doctrine. ]_ furnishes an easy escape from
the trouble or expense implied by every project of improvement.
"' What use would it be," they ask, " to promote an extensive emi-
gration ? the whole vacuum would be immediately filled up by the
necessary increase of population. Why should we alter the Corn
Laws _ If food were for a time more abundant, in a very s/_ortperiod
the 2_ofulation wouM be again on a level with the means of subsistence,
and we should be just as ill off as before."
There are many also, particularly among those who reason rather
with their hearts than their heads, who are unable to assent to these
doctrines, and yet believe them to be among the admitted results of
Political Economy. Such persons apply to the whole Science the
arg_lme_um ab abs_ardo; and, instead of inquiring into the accuracy
of the reasoning, refuse to examine the premises from which such
objectionable conclusions are inferred.
It is because we believe these misconceptions to be extensively
prevalent that we have ventured to detain our readers by this long
diseussion,--a discussion which some may think a mere dispute about
the more convenient use of a word, and oLhers an attempt to prove a
self-evident fact.

DEVELOPMENT
OF THETHIRDELEMENTARYPROPOSITION
OFTHE
SCIENCE,_NAMELY_--
That the powers of Labour, a_l of the other Tnstruments which produce
Wealth, may be indefinitely increased by using their Products as the
means of.further Production.
production.--Having explained the sense in which we use the word
Wealth, and given an outline of the doctrine of Population, we no_r
proceed to consider Production, or the means by which wealth is
 PRODUCTION. 51

produced. The first terms to be defined are the verb produce, and
the substtintive product.
Product.--To uroducc, as far as Political Economy is concerned, i_
to occasion an a_terallon in the condition of the existing particles of
matter, for the occasioning of which Alteration. or for the thi',gs thence
rcsutt_g, something may be obtained in excha_ge. This alteration is
a product. It is scarcely necessary to remind our readers that matter
is susceptible neither of increase nor diminution, and that all which
man, or any other agent of which we have experience, can effect, is to
alter the condition of'its existing particles. But as Political Economy
treats only of wealth, and therefore only of those alterations of whic_
wealth is the result, we are forced to exclude all other aheratim_s
l_6m the definition of Products. The child who builds a castle with
sand on the shore, and the child who kicks it down, each occasioTJs
effects the same in kind as the man who builds or pulls down a
palace ; but as the exertions of the latter entitle him to be paid, he is
properly said to lyrod_ce, and the result of his conduct, whether it be
_lle covering' with buildings ground previously unoccupied, or render-
ing vacant what was previously built over, is properly called a Product.
product_ divided into _errices and commoditie_.--Pr0ducts have
been divided into material and immaterial, or, to express the same
distinction in different words, into commodities and services. This
distinction appears to have been suggested by Adam Smith's well-
known dMsion of labour into productive and unproductive. Those
who thought the principle of that division convenient, feeling at the
same time the difficulty of terming unproductive the labour without
which all other labour would be inefficient, invented the term services
or immaterial products, to express its results.
It appears to us, however, that the distinctions that have been
attempted to be drawn between productive and unproductive labourers,
or between the producers of material and immaterial products, or
between commodities and services, rest on differences existing not in
the things themselves, which are the objects considered, but in the
modes in which they attract our attention. In those cases in which
our attention is principally called, not to the act of occasioning the
alteration, but to the result of that act, to the thing altered, Econo-
mists have termed the person who occasioned that alteration a pro-
ductive labourer, or the producer of a commodity or material produet.
Where, on the other hand, our attention is principally called not to
the thing altered, but to the act of occasioning that alteration, Econo-
mists have termed the person occasioning that alteration an unpro-
ductive labourer, and his exertions, services, or immaterial products.
A shoemaker alters leather, and thread, and wax, into a pair of shoes.
A shoeblack alters a dirty pair of shoes into a clean pair. In the
first ease our attention is called principally to the things as altered.
The shoemaker, therefore, is said to make or produce shoes. In the
5_ PRODUCTION.

case of the shoeblack, our attention is called principaIly to the act as

performed. :He is not said to make or produce the commodity, clean
shoes, but to perform the service of cleaning them. In each case
there is, of eourse_ an act and a result; but in the one case our atten-
tion iscalled principally totheact,in theotherto theresult.
Among thecauseswhich direct our attention principally totheact,
or principally to the resz_,seem to be,first, the degreeof change
produced;and secondly, the mode inwhich thepersonwho benefits
by thatchangegeneral'iy purchases thatbenefit.
1. Where the alteration is but slight, especially if the thing that
has been subjected to alteration still retains the same name, our
attention is directed principally to the act. A cook is not said to
ma_ roast beef, but to dress it; but he is said to make a pudding, or
those more elaborate preparations which we call made dishes. The
change of name is very material: a tailor is said to make cloth into a
coat; a dyer is not said to make undyed cloth into dyed cloth. The
change produced by the dyer is perhaps greater than that produced
by the tailor, but the cloth in passing through the tailor's hands
changes its name; in passing through the dyer's it does not: the
dyer has not produced a mew name, nor, consequently in our minds, a
new thing.
The principal circumstance, however, is the mode in which the
payment is made. , In some cases the producer is accustomed to sel],
and we are accustomed to purchase, not his labour, but the subject on
which that labour has been employed; as when we purchase a wig or
a chest of medicine. In other cases, what we buy is not the thing
altered, but the labour of altering it, as when we employ a haircutter
or a physician. Our attention in all these cases naturally fixes itself
on the thing which we are accustomed to purchase; and according as
we are accustomed to buy the labour, or the thing on which that
labour has been expended,--as we are, in fact, accustomed to pur-
chase a commodity or a service, we consider a commodity or a service
as the thing produced. The ultimate object both of painting and of
acting is the pleasure derived from imitation. The means adopted
by the painter and the actor are the same in kind. :Each exercises
his bodily organs, but the painter exercises them to distribute colours
over a canvas, the actor to put himself into certain attitudes, and to
utter certain sounds. The actor sells his exertions themselves. The
painter sells not his exertions, but the picture on which those exer-
tions have been employed. The mode in which their exertions are
sold constitutes the only difference between menial servants and the
other labouring classes : a servant who carries coM from the cellar to
the drawing-room performs precisely the same operation as the miner
who raises them from the bottom of the pit to its mouth. But the
consumer pays for the coals themselves when raised and received into
his cellar, and pays the servant for the act of bringing them up. The
 PRODUCTION. 53

miner,therefore, is saidto producethe materialcommodity,coals;

the servantthe immaterialproduct, or service.Both,in fact, pro-
duce the same thing, an alteration in the condition of the existing
particles of matter; but our attention is fixed in the one case on the
act, in the other on the result of that act.
In the ruder states of society almost all manufactures are domestic;
the Queens and Princesses of heroic times were habitually employed
in overlooking the labours of their maidens. The division of labour
has banished from our halls to our manufactories the distaff and the
teem; and, if the language to which we have been adverting were
correct, the division of labour must be said to have turned spinners
and weavers from unproductive into productive labourers; from pro-
ducers of immaterial services into producers of material commodities.
_erviee and Comm_lity dilerimmlnated.--But, objecting as we do to
a nomenclature which should consider producers as divided, by the
nature of their products, into producers of services and producers of
commodities, we are ready to admit the convenience of the distinction
between services and commodities themselves, and to apply tile term
ser_/ce to the act of occasioning an alteration in the existing state of
things, the term coramodity to the thing as altered; the term product
including both commodities and services.
It is to be observed that, in ordinary language, a person is not
said to produce a thing unless he has employed himself for that espe-
cial purpose. If an English oyster-fisher should meet with an oyster
containing a pearl, he would be called not the producer of the pearl,
but its casual finder. But a Ceylon oyster-fisher, whose trade is to
fish for pearl oysters, is called a producer of pearls. The mere ex/s-
gence of the pearls is in both cases owing to the agency of nature;
their existence as articles of value is in both cases owing to the agency
of the fisher in removing them from a situation in which they were
valueless. In the one case he did this intentionally, in the other
accidentally. Attention is directed in the one case to his agency, and
J_e is therefore called the producer of the pearl. In the other ease it
is directed to the agency of nature, and he is called only the appro-
priator, But it appears to us the more convenient classification, for
scientific purposes, to term him ia both oases the producer.
c.mmmpttom Deamea.--Economists have in general opposed con-
sumptlon to production. They have defined consumption to be the
destruction wholly, or in part, of any portion of wealth. And they
consider it as the ultimate obi,ect of all production.
" Tout c_ qui est produ/t, Ir says M. Say, "est consomm_ ; par
eonsdguent _ route valeur crde est d_truite, e.t n' a dt_ crdd que Tour dtre
d_truite. '"
"Consumption," says Ylr. Malthus, "is the great purpose and

_7Say, Pr/twiples,tome iii. p. 276.

54 PRODUCTIONAND CONSUMPTION.

end of all production. ''is " By Consumption," says 3Ir. M'Culloch,

"is meant the annihilation of those qualities which render commodities
useful or desirable. To consume the products of Art and Industry
is to deprive the matter of which they consist of utility, and conse-
quently of the exchangeable value communicated to it by labour.
Consumption is, in fact, the end and object of human exertion, and
when a commodity is in a fit state to be used, if its consumption be
deferred, a loss is incurred."1"
That almost all that is produced is destroyed is true: but we can-
not admit that it is produced for the purpose of being destroyed. It
is produced for the purpose of being made use of. Its destruction is
au incident to its use, not only not intended, but, as far as possible,
avoided. In fact, there are some things which seem unsusceptible of
destruction except by accidental injury. A statue in a gallery, or a
medal or a gem in a cabinet, may be preserved for centuries without
apparent deterioration. There are others, such as food and fuel,
which perish in the very act of using them, and hence, as these are
the most essential commodities, the word consumption has been
applied universally as expressing the making use of any thing. ]_ut
the bulk of coramodities are destroyed by those numerous gradual
agents which we call collectively time, and tile action of which we strive
to retard. If it be true that consmnption is the object of all produc-
tion. the inhabitant of a house must be termed its consumer, but it
would be strange to call him its destroyer; since it would unquestionably
be destroyed, much sooner if uninhabited. It would be an improve-
ment in the language of Political Economy if the expression " to use"
could be substituted for that " to consume." There is, howe_'er, so
much difficulty in changing an established nomenclature, that we
shall continue to use the word consumption, premisin_ that we use
it to signify primarily the making use of a thing; a circumstance to
which its destruction is generally, but not neees,arily, incidental.
The wealth of a Country will much depend on the question, whether
the tastes of its inhabitat_ts lead them to prefer objects of slow or of
rapid destruction.
It will depend, however, much more on their preference of pro-
ductive or unproductive consumption.
lltrodHvti_t-¢ ' and Irnprotllncli-, e ('ousumplioJL--Productive consumption
is that use of a commodity which occasions an ulterior product. Un-
productive con._umption is, of course, that use which occasions no
ulterior product. The characteristic of unproductive consumption is,
_hat it adds to the enjoyment of no one but the consumer himself.
Its only effect upon the rest of the community is to diminish pro ta,_to
the mass of commodities appheable to their use.
Some commodities are unsusceptible of any but unproductive eon-

l_Principles,,J'c.p. 219. 19Id. p. 511---612,2d ed.

 PRODUCTIONAND CONSUMPTION. 55

sumptlcn; such are lace, embroidery, jewellery, and the oth,r personal
ornaments which are simply decorative, and afford neither warmth
nor protection. Under thi_ head may also be ranked tobacco and
smffi" and the other stimulants, of which the best that can be said is,
d/at they are not injurious. A much larger class of commodities is
designed solely for productive use, and is never consumed unprodnc-
tively, but by mistake. In this claqs arc all tools, from the simplest
to the most complicated; from the spade and the raft, to the steam
engine and the indiaman. But the _eneralitv of commodities may be
used, aceordiug to the will of the proprietor, productively or unpro-
ductively; may be consumed so a_ to substitu;e some product in lieu
of that which has been dc_tr:,yed, or without any further beneticial
result than the immed,ate p!casure wi_ich has accompanied their use.
Whatever is capable of' supporting human existence may be used to
maintain tho_e who are themsel_es producers, or those who are not.
In the first case it is productively, in the second unproducti,'cly con-
sumed.
The distinction between p._oductlve and unproductive co_.¢_,mer.eis
less clearly marked than that between productive and unproductive
cons_mption. To divide men into two classes, nrodaetive and unpro-
ductive consumers, would, in fact, be a false division, there being few
who do not in some rc.-pcets belong to both classes. So far as a
man's consumption is essential to his production, he belongs to ti_e
first class; so far as it is m)t essential, to the second. Ti_ose only
can be called simply unproductive wire return nothing whatever for
what they consume; those only simply productive who indulge in no
superfluous consumption whatever-
To the first description belong those who, being provided, through
their own previous exertions, or by the accidents of donation or inheri-
tance, with a fired suilicienr for their subsistence, are content to dedicate
their revenue and their leisure to the purposes of mere enjoyment.
This class is never large in any state of society. In an ignorant.
and eonseqqently a poor community, tim number of those possessin:r
a maintenance independent of exertion is necessarily small. Among"
civilized nations the love of accumulation, of power, of distinction,
and of occupation, and the nobler desire of being more or less exten-
sively useful, all powerfully counteract the slothful principles of our
nature. As property becomes more secure, as the avenues to influence
are opened, as merit and wealth rise in puhlic estimation over the
accidents of birth, as barbarous prejudices degrading to indm, try wear
out, as the influence of seined rehgion teaches men that the.)" were
created for better purposes than selfish pleasure or useless mortifica-
tion, in fact, as civilization improves, all the motives to voluntary
exertion acquire force. And though the number of those who m_ght
live in idleness increases, the proportion of those who are unhappy
enough to exercise that privilege diminishes,
5_ PI_0DUCTIONAND CONSUMPTION.

Another class consists of those who derive their support soIely from
the spoil or the charity of others. The number of those who live by
rapine has obviously a tendency to diminish in the progress of civiliza-
tion. About mendicancy there may be some doubt, as some super-
fluous wealth seems necessary to its existence, and it may be supposed
likely to increase with the superfluity on which it feeds. That laws
ill framed or ill administered may allow it so to increase we know,
from our own experience. But there seems to be no reason to doubt
that, under a wise system of commercial and municipal legislation,
the number of able-bodied paupers might be so reduced as to be
practically unimportant.
The last class of unproductive consumers consists of those whom
age or infirmity has rendered permanently incapable of production.
We say loermanerctly, to exclude children, and those suffering under
temporary disability. Though a child or an invalid make no immediate
return, their support is the necessary condition of their future services.
This is by far the largest of the unproductive classes, and one not
likely to suffer relative diminution, the same causes which tend to
obviate disease and injury tending also to prolong life where their
effects are incurable. :Bat from the information collected in the House
of Commons' Report on Friendly Societies, 5th July, 1825, vol. iv.,
we are inclined to think that in this Country the class in question
cannot amount to a fortieth part, or about two-and a-half per cent. of
the whole community.
The number of absolutely productive consumers, that is, of persons
who consume solely for the purpose of reproducing, is much smaller.
It may be a question indeed whether in a Country free from slavery,
or regulations resembling slavery, any such class is to be found. The
humblest labourer has some expenses which are not essential to his
health and strength. We endeavour to give to our domestic animals
nothing beyond what is strictly necessary, and in the Countries where
man is considered as a domestic animal it might be expected that the
consumption of a slave would be equally limited. But even the slave
generally acquires some peculium, which implies that his ordinary
subsistence somewhat exceeds his wants.
It appears from this analysis that the bulk of the community are
neither productive nor unproductive consumers, but may be referred
to the one class or to the other, according to the portion of their
expenses for the time being under consideration. So far as the
husbandman takes just enough of the least expensive food, is just
sufficiently clad with the simplest raiment, and inhabits a dwelling
just sufficiently weather-tight and spacious to protect him from the
seasons, he is a productive consumer. But his pipe and his gin, and
generally speaking his beer, and the humble ornaments of his person
and his dwelling, form his unproductive consumption.
We do not, of course, mean it to be inferred that all personal
 INSTRUMENTS OF PRODUCTION. 57

expenditure beyond mere necessaries is necessarily unproductive. The

duties of those who fill the higher ranks in society can seldom be well
performed unless they conciliate the respect of the vulgar by a certain
display of opulence. If a Judge, or an Ambassador, required by his
station to support an establishment costing £2000 a-year, should
spend £4000, half of his consumption would be productive, and the
other half unproductive. It would be a great mistake, however, to
consider the third footman behind his coach, though a mere useless
weight to the horses, an unproductive consumer. What the footman
consumes are his wages, and, so far at least as he consumes them in
order to enable himself to perform his services as footman, he is a
productive consumer. The things unproductively consumed are his
services, and th_ are consumed by his master. Nor is it to be sup-
posed, on the other hand, that all consumption even of necessaries by
those who are themselves producers, is a productive consumption.
The half-employed pauper whose labour is worth £10 a-year, and
whose consumption is £20, consumes unproductively the difference.
ISSZRUME_'rSOF PRODUCTION.

Having explained the nature of Production and Consumption, we

now proceed to consider the Agents by whose intervention Production
takes place.
I. ]Labour.--The primary Instruments of Production are Labour
and those A_ents of which nature, unaided by man, affords us the
assistance.
Labour is the voluntary exertion of bodily or mental faculties for
the purpose of Production. It may appear unnecessary to define a
term having a meaning so precise and so generally understood.
Peculiar notions respecting the causes of value have, however, led
some Economists to employ the term labour in senses so different from
its common acceptation, that for some time to come it will be
dangerous to use the word without explanation. We have already
observed that many recent writers have considered value as solely
dependent on labour. When pressed to explain how wine in a cellar,
or an oak in its progress from a sapling to a tree, could, on this
principle, increase in value, they replied that they considered the
improvement of the wine and the growth of the tree as so much
additional labour bestowed on each. We do not quite understand
the meaning of this reply; but we have given a detbfition of labour,
lest we should be supposed to include in it the uJassisted operations
of nature. It may also bewell to remind our readers that this defini-
tion excludes all those exertions which are not intended, immediately
or through their products, to be made the subjects of exchange. A
hired messenger and a person walking for his amusement, a sportsman
and a gamekeeper, the ladies at an English ball and a company of
Natch girls in India, undergo the same fatigues; but ordinary
 58 ABSTINENCE.

language does not allnw us to consider those as undergoing labour

who exert thcmseh'es for the mere purpose of amusement,
II. _amrnl Agen,,_.--Under the term " the a_ents offe:'ed to us by
nature," or, to use a shorter expression, " Natural Agents," we
include every productive agent so far as it does not derive its powers
from the act of man.
The term "Natural Agent" is far from being a eenvenient deslg_m-
tion, but we have adopted it partly because it has been already made
use of in this sense by eminent writers, and partly because we have
not been able to find one tess objectionable. The principal of the_e
' agents is the ]and, with its mines, its rivers, its natural f.,re_t_ with
their wild inhabitants, and. in short, all its spontaneou¢ productions.
To these must be added the ocean, the atme_phere, ligh_ and hea_,
and even those physical laws, gueh as gravita:mn an4 electricity, by
the knowledge of which we are able to vary the c,)mbinations of matte('.
All these productive agents have in ze,(eral, by what appears to be
an inconvenient synecdoche, been designated "by the term lan:l :
partly because the land, as a source of profit, is°the most importan_
of those which are susceptible of apprepriation, but ch;efiy becan',e its
posaession generally carries with i_ the emnmand ever most of the
others. And it is to be remembered that, though the powers of
nature are necessary to afford a substratum tbr the other instruments r
of production to w,Jrf: upon, they are not of themseL'e_, when universally _
accessible, cause_ of valu< Limitation in supply i% as we have seen,
a necessary constituent of value; and what is umrersaily accessible
is practieaity unlimited in supply.
IlI. Ab,tinenee.--But although IIuman Labour, and the Agency of
Nature, independently of that of man, are tim primary Productive
Powers, they require the concurrence of a Third Productive Principle
to give to them complete efficiency. The most laborious population,
inhabiting the most fertile ten-itory, if they devoted all their labour
to the production of immediate re_-ul_, and consumed its produce as
ig arose, would soon find their utmost exertions insufficient to produce ,
even the mere necessaries of existence.
To the Third Principle, or Instrument of Production without
which the two others are inefficient, we shall give the name of Absti-
aencc: a term by which we express the conduct of a person who
either abstains from the m_produetive use of what he can eomman,l,
or designedly prefers the production of remote to that of immediate
results.
It was to the effects of this Third Instrumdnt of Production that
we adverted, when we laid down, as the third of our elementary pro-
positions, that the Powers of Labour and of the other Instruments which
produce IVealth may be indefinitely i_creascd by using their" Products
as the means of further Production. All our subsequent remarks oa
abstinence are a development and illustration of this proposition; we
 ABSTINENCE. 59

say development and illustration, because it can scarcely be said to

require formal proof.
The division of the Instruments of Production into three great
branches has long been familiar to Economists. Those branches they
have generally termed Labour, Land, and Capital. In the principle of
this division we agree; though we have substituted different expression_
for the second and thirdbranches. We have preferred the mrm Natural
Agents to that of Land, to avoid designating a wt_ole genus by the name
of one of its species: a practice which has occasioned the other cognate
species to be generally slighted and often forgotten. We have sub-
stituted the term Abstinence for that of Capital on different grounds.
The term Capital has been so variouoly defined that it may be
doubtful whether it have any generally received meaning. We
think, however, that, in popular acceptation, and in that of Econo-
mists themselves, when they are not reminded of' their defi:fitlons, that
word signifies a_ article of v_;eatth,tl_e res_dt of ]_u,_an exertion, cm-
l)loyed in the l)voduetioa or di._trib,._donof wealt]_. We say the result
of human exertion, in order to exclude those productive instruments
to which we have given the name of natural azent.% and wl:.ieh aff_,rd "_
not profit, in the scientific sense of that word, but rent.
It is evident that Capital, thus de!Jut,l, is not a simple productive
instrument; it is in most cases the result 6f all the three producti_e
instruments combined. Some natural a_ent must have afibrded the
material, some delay of enjoyment must in general have reserved it
from unproductive use, and some labour must in _eneral have he._n
employed to prepare and preserve it. _/ t/_e._v'or,_ Abstb_,;,ce, w ,_
wish to express that age,,_t, di,stinct .t)'om labm : and the c,._:e:,cJtc:t"
_ature. t/,.e cone_rre_ee of ,:hide is veces._ar?lt,_,t/_e e.cisto_ce q/" ( '_t_;_a!,
a_zd whief,, stands i,_ t]te sa_le _'elatbn to Prqfit as Laborer doe_ to
Waqes. We are aware that we employ the word Abstinence in a
more extensive sense than is warranted hy cemmo:_ usage. Attention
is usually drawn to abstinence only when it is not united with labour.
It is recognised instantly in the conduct of a man who allows a tr,,e
or a domestic animal to attain its full growth; but it is less obvi,m_
when he plants the sapling or sows the seed corn. The observer's
attention is occupied by the labour, and he omits to consider th,
additional sacrifice made when labour is undergone for a distant
object. This additional sacrifice we comprehend under the term
Abstinence; not because Abstinence is an ohjecti(_nable expre._sion
for it, but because we have not been able to find one to which there
are not stilt greater objections. We once thought of using "provi-
dence;" but providence implies no self-denial, and has no necessary
connection with profit. To take out an umbrella is provident, but
not in the usual sense of the word profitable. We afte_ards pro-
posed "frugality," but frugality implies some care and_attention,
that is to say, some labour; and though in practice Abstinence is
60 CAPITAL.

almost always accompanied by some de_ee of labour, it is obviously

necessary to keep them separate in an analysis of the instruments of
production.
It may be said that pure abstinence, being a mere negation, cannot
produce positive effects; the same remark might as welt be applied to
intrepidity, or even to liberty; but who ever objected to their being
considered as equivalent to active agents ? To abstain from the
enjoyment which is in our power, or to seek distant rather than
immediate results, are among the most painful exertions of the human
will. It is true that such exertions are made, and indeed are frequent
in every state of society, except perhaps in the very lowest, and have
been made in the very lowest, for society could not otherwise have
improved; but of all the means by which man can be raised in the
scale of being, abstinence, as it is perhaps the most effective, is the
slowest in its increase, and the least generally diffused. Among
nations, those that are the least civilized, and among the different
classes of the same nation those which are the worst educated, axe
always the most improvident, and consequently the least abstinent.
eapiml.--We have already defined Capital to be an article of wealth,
the result of human exertion, employed in the production or distribution
of wealth, and we have observed that each individual article of capital
is in general the result of a combination of all the three great instru-
ments of production--labour, abstinence, and the agency of nature.
DiHerent lTlode_ in which _'apit_l may be employed.--Whea a man

has possessed himself of any article of wealth, and resolves to employ

it, not for the mere purposes of enjoyment, but as Capital, or, in other
words, as a means of further production, or of distribution, there
appear to be eight modes in which his design may be effectod.
31. He may intentionably destroy it, in order to obtain the effects
which are the direct consequences of its destruction. The consump-
tion of gunpowder in a mine, and of coals in the furnace of a steam-
engine, afford instances. The food which every producer must con-
sume in order to keep himself in the health and strength necessary to
enable him to continue a producer is also thus consumed.
2. He may retain it and employ it for purposes of which its
gradual destruction is the incidental but not the intended, or in all
cases, the necessary consequence. All implements and machinery
are thus employed.
_3. He may vary its form, as when materials are converted into
finished commodities.
4. lie may simply retain it until its value has been increased by
changes occasioned by the lapse of time, or by an altered state of
the market. The proprietor of a vineyard who, immediately after an
abundant vintage, retains his wine, aims at both these advantages.
5. He may keep it ready for sale to meet the wants of his customers.
A shopkeeper's finished articles or stock in trade are thus employed.
 FIXED AND CIRCULATLNG
CAPITAL. 61

6. He may give it to the proprietor of some natural agent for the

use of that agent; as when a farmer pays rent to his landlord.
7. He may give it to a labourer in exchange for his exertions; or,
in other words, he may employ it in the payment of wages.
8. He may give it in exchange for some other commodity, to be
itself employed as capital; or, in other words, he may use it commer-
cially.
Most capitalists employ portions of their capital in all these elght
modes.
If we suppose a wine retailer's capital to consist of the knowledge
which he has acquired during his education for his business, of the
warehouse and the simple machinery necessary to his trade, of the
stock of commodities necessary for his own current consumption, and
of one hundred pipes of wine in wood and in bottle, we shall find that
his knowledge, and machinery, and necessaries, are destroyed without
ever being directly exchanged: the only difference being, first, that his
knowledge remains unimpaired until either his death, or his retire-
ment from business makes it suddenly valueless, while his buildings, and
machinery, and clothes, furniture, and food are consumed and replaced
at successive periods; and, secondly, that the destruction of his food
is immediate, and that of his buildings, machinery, furniture, and
clothing is gradual. We shall find that of the wine he retains a
portion until it shall have been improved by age, and keeps a portion
as stock in trade ready for immediate sale, but ultimately sells the
whole and pays away its price, partly in rent for the land covered by
his buildings, partly in wages to his clerks, porters, shopmen, and
other labourers, partly in keeping up his buildings and machinery,
and partly in the repurchase of wine, bottles, and corks to keep up
the stock in his warehouse and shop. What remains of the price of
his wine, and something must remain, or he would be in a worse
situation than one of his own labourers, is generally termed his profit:
a part of it he must employ in replacing the stock of commodities
necessary to keep himself in health and strength; the remainder he
may employ either in his own personal enjoyment and that of his
fi'iends, which is an unproductive use, or in the increase of his own
capital, or in creating a capital for some other person, in the educa-
tion, for instance, of his son, which are productive uses.
Fixed and ('irculaling capitaL--Adam Smith has divided Capital'
into fixed and circulating.
"There are two ways," he observes, "in which a capital ma 3 he
employed so as to yield a revenue or profit.
"First, it may be employed in raising, manufaeturin 7. or purchas-
ing goods, and selling them again with a profit. The capital employed
in this manner yields no revenue or profit to its employer while it
either remains in his possession or continues in the same shape. The
goods of the merchant yield him no revenue or profit till he sells them
62 FIXED A]qD CIRCULATINGCAPITAL.

for money, and the money yields him as little till it is again exchanged
for goods. His capital is continually going from him ill one shape, and
returning to him in another, and it is only by means of such circula-
tion, or successive exchanges, that it can yield him any profit. Such
capitals, therefore, may properly be called circulatb_g capitals.
" Secondly, it may be employed in the improvement of land, in the
purchase of useful machines and implements of trade, or in such like
things as _yield a revenue or profit without changing masters or cir-
culating any fm-ther. Such capitals, therefore, may properly be called
/_xe_l capitals.
'" Tile capital of a merchant is altogether a circulating capital, lie
has occasion for no machines or instruments of trade, unless his shop
or warehouse be considered as such.
" Some part of the capital of every master artificer or manufacturer
must be fixed in the instrmnents of his trade. This part, ho_-ever,
is very small iu some, and very large in others. A master tailor
requires no other instrument of trade than a parcel of needles;
those of a master shoemaker arc a little, though but a little, more
expensive.
" In other works a much greater fixed capital is required. In a
great iron work, for example, the furnace, the forge, the slit mill, are
instruments of trade which cannot be erected without a very great
expense. That part of the capital of the farmer which is employed
in the instruments of agriculture is a fixed, that which is employed in
the wages and maintenance of his labouring servants is a circulating,
capital. He makes a profit of the one by keeping it in his own
possession, and of the other by parting with it. A herd of cattle,
bought in to make a profit by their milk and increase, is a fixed
capital; the profit is made by keeping them. Their maintenance is
a circulating capital; the profit is made by parting with it." (Book
ii. oh. i.)
We are not aware that the principle of Adam Smith's division has
ever been directly objected to. There may be some doubt, perhaps,
whether the terms fixed and circulating are the best that could have
been selected; but Adam Smith has stamped on them the meaning
which he intended, and they have passed current in that signification
ever since.
Mr. Ricardo, however, with the inattention to established usage
which so much diminishes the usefulness of his writings, has used the
terms fixed and circulating capital in a totally different sense. In this
he has been followed by _Ir. 5Iill; and as neither of these writers
intimates that his use of the words is not the common one, it may be
well to mark the difference.
"According as capital is rapidly perishable," says 5Ir. Ricardo,
"and requires to be frequently reproduced, or is of slow consumption,
it is classed under the heads of circulating or of fixed capital: a
 F1XED AND CIRCULATINGC._.PITAL. 63

division not essential, and in which the line of demarcation cannot be

accurately drawn. A brewer, whose buildings and machinery are
valuable and durable, is said to employ a large portion of fixed capi-
tal: on the contrary, a shoemaker, whose capital is chiefly employed
in the payment of wages, which arc expended on food and clothing,
commodities more perishable than buildings and machiner3- , io said to
employ a large proportion of capital as circulating capital." (Oh.i.
see. 4.)
51i'. Ricardo might well remark that the line of demarcation between
his two sorts of capital cannot be accurately drawn; for what can be
more vague, or more void of positive meaning, than such comparative
terms as slow and rapid ? The singular circumstance is that both he
and Mr. Mill should have supposed, and it appears clear that they
did suppose, that their division followed that of Adam Smith. It is
obviously a cross division. The master tailor's needles which Adam
Smith selects as an example of fixed capital, because the tailor retains
them, would, according to Mr. Rieardo, be circulating, because they
are perishable. On the other hand, the materials and stock in trade
of an iron founder would be circulating capital according to Smith,
and fixed according to I_icardo.
We may be able to make the nature of capital, and Adam Smith's
conception of it, still clearer, by quoting his subdivision of fixed and
circulating capitals.
" Fixed capital," he says, "consists chiefly of the four following
articles:_
"First, of all useful machines and instruments of trade which
facilitate and abridge labour.
" Secondly, of all buildings used for the purpose of trade or manu-
facture; such as shops, warehouses, and farm-buildings, &e. They
are a sort of instruments of trade, and may be considered in the same
light.
" Thirdly, of the improvements of land, of what has been profitably
laid out in clearing, draining, enclosing, manuring, and reducing it
into the condition most proper for culture. An improved farm may
be regarded in the same light as one of those useful machines which
facilitate and abridge labour.
"Fourthly, of the acquired and useful abilities of all the members
of the society. The acquisition of such talents by the maintenance
of the aequirer during his education, study, or apprenticeship, costs
an expense, which ib a capital fixed and realized, as it were, in his
person. The improved dexterity of a workman may be considered in
the same light as a machine or instrument of trade which facilitates
and abridges labour.
" The circulating capital is composed likewise of four parts:-
"First, of the money by means of which all the other three are
circulated and distributed to their proper consumers.
64 FIXED AND CIRCULATINGCAPITAL.

" Secondly, of the stock of provisions in the possession of the

butcher, the grazier, &c., for the purpose of sale.
"Thirdly, of the materials, whether altogether rude, or more or
less manufactured, of clothes, furniture, and building, which are not
yet made up, but remain in the hands of the growers, manufacturers,
or merchants.
"Fourthly, of the work which is made up and completed, but is
still in the hands of the merchant or manufacturer; such as the finished
work in the shops of the smith, the goldsmith, the jeweller, and the
china merchant. The circulating capital consists in this manner, of
the provisions, materials, and finished work of all kinds which arc in
the hands of their respective dealers, and of the money that is neces-
sary for circulating and distributing them to their final consumers."
Book ii. ch. i.
This enumeration contains, perhaps, some useless distinctions, and,
we think, two improper exclusions, but generally speaking, it gives
an excellent view of the different species of capital.
The things which appear to be improperly excluded are, first, the
necessaries of life. consumed bv the labourer and the capitalist for
their own support : and, secon_Jty, the houses and other commodities
of slow consumption which the owner lets out to the consumer.
Adam Smith can scarcely be said to have explained his reason for
excluding from the term capital the necessaries in the possession of
the labourer. He merely observes that the labourer consumes as
sparingly as he c_.n, and derives his revenue only from his labour.
The attention of _[r. Malthus has been drawn to the subject; he
agrees in this respect with Adam Smith, and on the following grounds:
"The only productive consumption, properly so called, is the con-
sumption or destruction of wealth by capitalists with a view to repro-
duction. This is the only marked line of distinction which can be
drawn between productive and unproductive consumption. The work-
man whom the capitalist employs consumes that part of his wages
which he does not save, as revenue, with a view to subsistence or
enjoyment; and not as capital with a view to production." Definitions,
p. 258.
Mr. Malthus would admit that the coals in the furnace of a steam-
engine are productively employed; because their consumption is the
necessary condition to the engine's performing its work. And in
what does the consumption of food by a labourer differ from that of
coals by a stcam-enginc? S_mply in this, that the labourer derives
pleasure from what he consumes, and the steam-engine does not. If
a labourer were so constituted as-_ro feel no craving for food, and no
gratification from eating_ and were reminded of its necessity only by
the debility consequent on its want, would not his meals, taken as
they would be solely to enahle him to undergo his fatigues, be pro-
ductively consumed? :Nature has wisely enforced an act of daily
 FIXED AND CIRCULATINGCAPITAL. 65

necessity by the stimulus of hunger, and the reward .f enjoyment,

but do that stimulus and enjoyment detract from its productiveness ?
the ploughman's dinner less the means of his toils because he
considers it as their end ? ls nnt the f_,od of working cattle produc-
tively employed ? Does not the owner of a West Indian estate con-
sider the supl,ties which he sends to his slaves as a capital destined
to productive consumption ?
Adam Smith has stated at length his reasons for excluding from
the term capital the houses and other articles which the owner lets
out to the consumer.
"One portion," he states, " of the stock of a s.cietv is reserved
for immediate consuuwtion, of which the characteri-t[e is that it
affords no revenue or profit. The whole stock of v_,eredwelti.g-houses
makes a part of this portion. If a bouse be let to a tenant, as the
house itself can produce nothing, the ten:_nt must p,_v the rent out of
some other revenue which he derives either from labour, or stock, or
land. Where masquerades are common, it i_ a trade to let out dresses
for the night. Upholsterers frequently let furniture by the monttl or
the year. The revenue, howe_er, which is derived from such things
must always be ultimately derived from some other source of revenue.
A stock of clothes may last for several years; a stock of furniture
half a century or a century; but a stock of houses, well built and
properly take_* care of, may last many centuries. Th.ugh the period
of their total cm_.uroptiou, however, is more distant, th.v are still as
really a stock reserved for immediate consumption as eitlier clothes or
furn(ture." B,,ok ii. oh. i.
This language would have been consistent if Adam Smbh, like
most of his suec_s_ors, had confined the term capital to the instruments
of further consumption. But we have seen that I_e nwludes under
that term things incapable of productive c_m_urnp:i.T_, if' they have
not reached the hands of those who are fin,,tlv .* u-e _hem. If a
diamond neckl.ce in a jeweller's shop be co' :,_c "tyte,'n._d capital, and
Adam Smith has expressly stated that it is .,,. _h_ is m,t a house
which has been just finished by a speculative buiht,_r ? It is difficult
to perceive wh_ he should have laid so much stress on the perishable-
hess of the things in question. Peri,.hablcness and durability are not
elements in the &.ti.ctio_J between what is a_,d what is not to be cor-
rectly termed capit ,1. M,,nv .f the (hings which are u.ed productively
are of almost evan.sc_nt e.xi_te,,ce, such a_ the gas which lights a
ma,,ufaetory. Ou the other hand, the jewels of a noble _hmlly are
not capital, lhough no limits can be assigned to their duration. It is
at least eot,eeivatde that a house might be built so as lJot to require
repair, and wouht this circumstance aff,_ct the questio_ ? In fact,
hewer, st, the perishableness of these things is u:Jfavourahte to Adam
Smith's view, as it shows their resemblance to things which he haa
admitted to be capital. A cellar of wine at a tavern-keeper's falls
 6G APPLICATION OF CAPITAL.

under his third class of circulating capitals; gradually the cellar is

emptied, and when the last bottle has been drunk the capital is at an
end. A house let ready furnished, a circulating library, a job carriage,
a stage coach, or a steam-packet, differs from the cellar of wine only
because the progress of its consumption is less capable of being
measured. Every day that it is used a portion wears away; and
that portion is as much purchased and as much consumed by the hirer
of the house or the carriage as the bottle of wine taken from the
cellar. It is true that it may be consumed unproductively, and that
in that case the hirer must pay the rent from some other revenue, as
is the ease with the price of whatever is unproductively consumed.
;But the portion of the house and furniture and carriage, for the time
being unconsumed, is as nmeh the capital, in the sense in which Adam
Smith uses that word, of the upholsterer and the ]mekneyman, as the
unconsumed portion of the wine is the capital of the tavern-keeper.
_APIYALMAYAGAINBE DIVIDED,ACCORDING TOThE PURPOSESTO WrilCrI
IT IS APPLICABLE,INTO I_EPRODUCTIVE, SIMPL£ PROI)UCTIVE,A._D
U_'PROl)UCTIVE.

We apply the _rm Reproductive to alltkosearticles of wealth

wLichmay beusedtoproducethingsofthesame ]dudwiththemsclves.
Allagricultural stockisreproductive; and so areallthe necessaries
of life. That portion ofthem which isconsumed by thecapitalists
and labourers ,_mployed in producing necessaries is one of the means
by whicl_ the regular supply is kept up. The coals in the furnace of
a steam engine used in working a coal mine, the iron instruments in
an iron work, and a ship freighted with timber and naval stores are
all reproductively employed,
We apply the term Simply Productive to those articles of wealth
which, though instruments of production, cannot be employed in
producing things of the same kind with themselves. A lace machine
is simply producti_e. Its use is to make lace, but that lace cannot
be employed to make a new machine. All the tools and machinery
employed in the production of those things which cannot be productively
consumed are themselves simply productive.
We apply the term 55_productive or distributive capital to those
commodities which are destined to unproductive use, but have not
become the property of those who are to be their ultimate consumers.
A very great portion, perhaps the greater portion in value, of the
commodities produced in an improved state of society, fall under this
head at their first production.
We have already observed that, in every state of society, the num-
ber of absolutely unproductive consumers is small, and the number of
absolutely productive consumers still smaller. But as wealth increases
e:'ery man increases his unproductive consumption, until the whole
amount of the whole society of such consumption may, and often does,
 USE OF IMPLEMERTS. 67

exceed tlle whole amount of productive consumption. If we look

through the shops of an opulent city, we shall find the commodities
destined to mere enjoyment far exceeding ill value those destined to
be employed in further production.
Some of Adam Smith's successors have excluded the things of
which we are now speaking from the term capital. We have followed
his example in including them, for two reasons :-
First, because their exclusion is an unnecessary deviation from
ordinary language. To say that a jeweller, with £50,000 worth of
diamond ornaments in his shop, had no capital, would be an assertion
of which few hearers would be able to guess the meaning,
But, in the second place, if it were possible to do, what certainly
is much wanted, to form a new technical nomenclature for Political
Ecmmmy, still we should include under the term capital the con,-
modities in question. All Economists include under that term tile
materials and the instruments with which these commodities are
formed. If the rough diamond and the gold in which it is to be set
are capital while separate, it seems difficult to see what convenie,Jcc
there is in a nomenclature which denies them to be capital when
united. Again, no Economist will doubt that a profit is reeeired
in proportion to the average time during which the commodities in
question are retained by the capitalist. Why this profit is paid we
shall endeavour to show hereafter, but the fact that it is paid may
be assumed as unquestioned. But :Economists are agreed that who{-
ever gives a profit is properly termed capital.
STATEMENT OF _i-DV'ANTAGES DERIVED FROM TItE USE OF CAPITAL.

The principal advantages derived from Abstinence, or, to express

the same idea in more familiar language, from the Use of Capital, are
two : first, the Use of Implements; and second, the division of Labour.
I. The 1[:_,¢ of lmpiement_.--Implements, or tools, or machines
(words which express things perhaps slightly different in some respects,
but precisely similar so far as they are the subjects of Political
Economy) have been divided into those which produce power, and
those which transmit power. Under the first head arc comprehended
those which produce motion independently of human labour. Such
are, for instance, those machines which are worked by the force of
wind, of water, or of steam,
The second head comprises what are usually" termed tools, such as
the spade, the hammer, or the knife which assist the force, or save
the time of the workman, but receive their impulse from his hand.
To these two classes a third must be added, including all those
instruments which are not intended to produce or transmit motion.
using that word iu its popular sense. This class includes many things
to which the name of implement, tool, or machine is not generally-
applied. A piece of land prepared for tillage, and the corn with
68 USE OF IMPLEMENTS.

which it is to be sown, are among the implements by whose use the

harvest is produced. Books and manuscripts are implements more
productive than those invented by Arkwright ,,r Brunel. Again,
many of the things which popularly are called implements, such as the
telescope, ha_'e no reference to motion; and others, such as a chain,
or an anchor, or indeed any fastening whatever, are intended not to
produce or transmit, but to prevent it.
The instruments which derive their impulse from the person who
works them are in general of a simple de,ertption, and some of them
arc to be met with in the rudest state of hum,,n society. The first
subsistence offered by nature to the savage eon-is,*s of the brutes
around him; hut s,_me instruments bev,,nd _be weapons which she
has given-_rT)tHn must enable lfim t,_ tai_ advantage of her bounty.
It wd| be observed, that we consi,tcr tl_e use of all implements as
implvi_,g an exercise of abstinence, usin_ dmt word in our extended
sense as e_)mm'ehending all preference of rem,_tc to immediate results.
In eivihzed society tlu_- appears to be s_riedv true It is obviously
true as to the vse of all those instrumem._ and materi_ds which may
be used at _ilt, either for the purpose of pres_qlt enjoyment, or for
that of further producti_,n, such, for example, as the ,_reater part of
agricultural _-t,_ck. It is equally true as to die 7naki_,g of all those
iu, plements which are incapable of any but pr,,duc,ive us_, such as
tot,Is and m.tehiuery m the popular acceptation LJfthose words. In
an impr,_ved state _,f society, the torero,nest tool is the result of the
laborer of' prev,_ua years, perhaps of prev,,u_ centuries. A carpen-
ter's tools are among the simpl,st that ot.e_u' t_ us. But what a
sa,'rifiee of pr¢.-ent _.n.i_wment must }lave be_n u_,derff,,ne by the capi-
talist who fin _Teued the mi.e of whteh t..c carpenter's nails and
hammer a_'e _h_ pr_bduct! Itow mu_h labour d_reeted to distant
results ,rest h:_vc been en,pl,_yed by th,,s,_ wbc_ formed the instru-
ments with wl,,.h that mine was worked .9 In f, et. when we consider
that all ,,,,ls, exeept tile rude instruments °bfs,tvage life, are them-
sel_'es tile pr,*duct of earlier tools, we nm_ eutwlude that there is not
a nail, am_mg the many milhons annually fa_,rie,_ted in England,
which is not t_, a certain degree the pr_duct of some labour for the
purpose of obtai_ing a distant result, or. in our nomenclature, of some
abstmem'_ underg_)ne belbre the Conquest. or perhaps before the
tteptarchy.
The s_,.ue remark applies to the acquired abilities which Adam
Su,ith h:_s properly cons*dered a capital fixed and realized in the
per_,m ot their possessor. In many eases they arc the result of long
previt_u_ _.xer_ion and expense on his own part; exertion and expense
which might have been directed to the obtamm_ objects of immediate
enjoyment, but which have, in fact, been undergone solely in the hope
of a di,-_ant reward. And in almost all eases they imply mu_h ex-
pen,e, and consequently much sacrifice of immediate enjoyment on
 USE OF IMPLEMENTS. 69

the part of parents or guardians. The maintenance of a boy during

the first eight or nine years of his life is indeed an unavoidable
burden, and therefore cannot be considered a sacrifice. But almost
all that is expended on him after that age is voluntary. At nine or
ten he might earn a maintenance in an agricultural, and more than a
bare maintenance in a manufacturing employment, and at twenty-one
obtain better wages than at any subsequent period of his life. But
even the lowest department of skilled labour is in general inaccessible
except at an expense very great, when we consider by whom it is to
be borne; :£15 or :£20 is a low apprentice fee, but amounts to half
the average annual income of an agricultural family. The greater
part of the remuneration for skilled labour is the reward for the
abstinence implied by a considerable expenditure on the labourc,"a
education.
We must admit, however, that this reasoning does not apply to
society in that rude state which is not perhaps within the scope of
Political Economy. The savage seldom employs in making his bow
or his dart time which he could devote to the obtaining of any object
of immediate enjoyment. He exercises, therefore, labour and provi-
dence, but not abstinence. The first step in improvement, the rise
from the hunting and fishing to the pastoral state, implies an exercise
of abstinence. Much more abstinence, or, in other words, a much
greater use of capital, is required for the transition from the pastoral
to the agrieultural state; and an amount not only still greater, but
constantly increasing, is necessary to the prosperity of manufactures
and commerce. An agricultural Country can remain stationary; a
commercial and manufacturing one cannot. The capital which fifty
years ago enabled England to be the first of commercial and manu-
facturing nations, was probably far inferior in extent and efficiency to
that now possessed by France, or even to that of the late Kingdom
of the Netherlands. If our capital had remained stationary, we should
have sunk to a second or third-rate power. The same consequence
might now follow if commercial restraints, or the waste of a long war,
should cheek the increase of our present capital, while that of our
rivals should continue progressive.
Having shown the connection between abstinence and the employ-
ment of implements, the next thing to be considered is the advantage
which the use of implements affords. This subject, however, we shall
pass over very briefly; partly because an attempt to give any thing
like an adequate account of it, however concise, would far exceed the
limits of this Treatise; partly because the subject has been considered
at some length in the Articles in this Encyclopaedia on MECHANmS
and MANUrACTVRES;and partly because we believe all our readers to
be aware that the powers of man are prodigiously increased by the
use of implements, though probably no man ever had, or ever will
have, sufficient knowledge of details and perception of their relations
70 USE OF LMPLEME_TS.

and consequences, to estimate the whole amount of that increase. A

few remarks on those instruments which produce motion, or, as it is
technically termed, power, are all that we can venture on.
The superior productiveness of modern compared with ancient labour
depends, perhaps, principally on the use of these instruments. We
doubt whether all the exertions of all the inhabitants of the Roman
Empire, if exclusively directed to the manufacture of cotton goods,
could, in a whole generation, have produced as great a quantity as is
produced every year by a portion of the inhabitants of Lancashire;
and we are sure that the produce would have been generally inferior
in quality. The only moving powers employed by the Greeks or
Romans were the lower animals, water, and wind. And even these
powers they used very sparingly. They scarcely used wind except to
assist their merchant vessels ill a timid coasting; they used rivers as
they found them, for the purposes of communication, but did not
connect them by canals; they used horses only for burthen and
draught, and the latter without the assistance of springs. They
made little use of that powerful machine to which we give the general
name of a mill, in which a single shaft, turning under the impulse of
animal power, or wind, or water, or steam, enables a child to apply a
force equal sometimes to that of a thousand workmen.
A ship of the line under full sail has been called the noblest exhibi-
tion of human power: it is, perhaps, the most beautiful. But if
dominion over matter, if the power of directing inanimate substances,
at the same time to exert the most tremendous energy, and to per-
form the most delicate operations, be the test, that dominion and
power arc no where so strikingly shown as in a large cotton manu-
factory. One of the most complete which we have seen is that con-
structed by the late Mr. Marsland at Stockport; and, as it exhibits
very strikingly both the power and the manageableness of machinery.
it may be worth while to give a short description of it, as we saw it
in 1825.
Mr. Marsland was the proprietor of the Mersey for about a mile of
its course, and of a tongue of land which two reaches of the river form
into a peninsula. Through the isthmus of this peninsula he bored a
tunnel sufficient to receive seven wheels of large diameter, and to give
passage to enough of the river to turn them; these wheels communi-
cated rotatory motion to perpendicular shafts; and the perpendicular
shafts communicated the same motion to numerous horizontal shafts
connected with them by pinions. Each horizontal shaft ran below
the ceiling of a _ork-room, more than a hundred feet long. The
buildings connected with the wheels worked by the river contained
six or seven storeys of work-rooms, each supplied with its horizontal
shaft. The rotatory motion was carried on from each horizontal
shaft by means of small solid wheels called drums, affixed to the
principal shaft of each detached piece of machinery, and connected
 USE OF IMPLEMENTS. 7t

with the great horizontal shaft of tile work-room by a leathern strap.

Many of these rooms were not occupied by Mr. Marsland himself.
He let out, by the hour, the day, or the week, a certain portion ot
the floor of a work-room, and the liberty to make use of a certain
portion of the horizontal shaft. The tenant placed his own machinery
on the floor, connected its drum with the shaft that revolved rapidly
above, and instantly saw his own small mechanical world, with its
system of wheels, rollers, and spindles, in full activity, performing its
motions with a quickness, a regularity, and, above all, a perseverance,
f_r beyond the exertions of man. In the operation of machinery.
power, like matter, seems susceptible of indefinite aggregation and of
indefinite subdivision. Iu the performance of some of its duties the
machinery moved at a rate almost formidable, in others at one
scarcely perceptible. It took hold of the cotton of which a neckcloth
was to be made, cleaned it, arranged its fibres longitudinally, twisted
them into a strong and continuous thread, and finally wove that
thread into muslin. It took the wool of which a coat was to be
made, and, after subjecting it to processes more numerous than those
which cotton experiences, at last wove it into cloth. For thousands
of years, in fact, from the last great convulsion which traced the course
of the river, until Mr. Marsland bored his tunnel, had the Mersey
been wasting all the energy that now works so obediently.
One of the most striking qualities of machinery is its susceptibillty
of indefinite improvement. On looking through the instructive evi-
dence collected by the Committee on Artisans and Machinery, (1S24,)
it will be found that nothing is more impressed on the minds of the
witnesses than the constant tide of improvement, rendering obsolete
in a very few years all that might have been supposed to be perfect.
Mr. tIoldsworth, a spinner and machine-maker at Glasgow, states
that the bes_ mills at Glasgow are equal to the best mills at Manches-
ter erected throe or four years before. Mr. Holdsworth's history
of his own proceedings will illustrate many of the previous observa-
tions.
He is asked whether he got his machinery from Manchester when
he first commenced business, lie replies : " I did not ; I contem-
plated making it myself, and made the attempt, but there was so
much difficulty in getting good workmen, and the expense of tools
was so serious, that I desisted. I then selected a well-qualified
young mechanic, and engaged him to make it for me. I gave over
to him my patterns and my plans, and he executed well the machinery
required in the first mill. Two years after I built a second mill, the
machinery of which was also executed by him. After two years
more I built a third and larger mill, the machinery of which I made
myself"
He is asked why he made the last machinery himself, and replies:
" In the first place that machine-maker was very busy;" (it
72 USE OF IMPLEMENTS.

appears, subsequently, that, at the time cf the examination, that

maker could not have taken an order to execute any part of it under
sixteen months, and that there were then eight or nine mills waiting
for machinery, some of which had been ready for twelve months, and
had only. a small part of their machinery, and others had been ready
six months, and were empty;) " and as machine-makers do not like
to alter their plans, I could not prevail upon him to execute the
improvements then recently made in Manchester." (Fifth Report, p.
378.)
Mr. J. Dunlop is asked IP- 473,) how far he considers the American
factories behind those of Glasgow. He replies, about thirty years.
tie goes on to state that they are in a progressive state, and the men
very active and industrious. He is then asked whether, " supposing
English machinery transported to America, with the assistance of
English foremen, he does not think the population of America would
soon be taught to work in their factories equally to the men of
this Country ?" He answers, "Yes, I think they would; but before
the): could acquire that we should be ahead of them a long way
again. I reason comparing Scotland with England. We began the
business of cotton-spinning later, we were of course behind, and we
have always been behind; we have never been able to get up, and I
believe never wdl."
Sixty years form a short period in the history of a nation; yet what
ehanges in the state of Engla,d and the Southern parts of Scotland
have the steam engine and the cotton machinery effected within the
last sixty years! They have almost doubled the population, more than
doubled the wages of hlbouro and nearly trebled the rent of land.
They enabled us to endure, not certainly without inconvenience, but 4)
yet to endure, a public debt more than trebled, and a taxation more "4
than quadrupled. They changed us from exporters to importers of
raw produce, and consequently changed our corn laws from a bounty
on exportation to nearly a prohibition of importation. They have
clad the whole world with a light and warm clothing, and made it so
easy of acquisition that we are perhaps scarcely aware of the whole
enjoyment that it affords.
There appears no reason, unless that reason be to be found among
our own commercial institutions, why the improvements of the next
sixty years should not equal those of the preceding. The cotton
machinery is far from perfection; the evidence which we have quoted
shows that it receives daily improvements; and the steam engine is in
its infancy; its first application to vessels is within our recollection;
its application to carriages has scarcely commenced; and it is pro-
bable that many other powers of equal efficiency lie still undiscovered
among the secrets of nature, or, if known, are still unapplied. There
are doubtless at this instant iunumerable productive instruments
known, but disregarded, because separately they are inefficient, and
 DIVISION OF LABOUR. 73

the effect of their combination has not been perceived. Printing and
paper are both of high antiquity. Printing was probably known to
the Greeks; it certainly was practised by the Romans, as loaves of
bread stamped with the baker's initials have been found in Pompeii.
And paper has been used in China from times immemorial. But
these instruments separately were of little value. While so expen-
sive a commodity as parchment, or so brittle a one as the papyrus,
were the best materals for books, the sale of a number of good copies
sufficient to pay the expense of prii_ting could not be relied on.
Paper without printing was more useful than printing without paper;
but the mere labour necessary to constant transcription, even sup-
posing, the materials to be of no value, would have been such as still
to leave books an expensive luxury. But the combination of these
two instruments, each separately of little utility, has always been
considered the most important invention in the history of man.
II. Divisioml of L.bour.--The second of the two principal advan-
tages derived from Abstinence, or, in other words, from the use of
Capital, is the Division of Labour.
We have already observed that Division of Production would have
been a more convenient express,on than Division of Labour; but Adam
Smith's authority has given such currency to the term Division of
Labour, that we shall continue to employ it, using it, however, in the
extended sense in which it appears to have been used by Adam
Smith. We say alrl)ears to have been used, because Smith, with his
habitual neglig'encc of precision, has given no formal explanation of
his meaning. But in the latter part of his celebrated first chapter,
he appears to include among the advantages derived from the division
of labour all those derived from internal and external commerce. It
is clear, therefore, that, by Division of Labour, he meant Division of
Production, or, in other words, the confining, as much as possible
each distinct producer and each distinct class of producers to opera-
tions of a single kind.
The advantages derived from the division of labour arc attributed
by Smith to three different circumstances. " First, to the increase of
dexterity in every particular workman; secondly, to the saving of the
time which is commonly lost in passing from one species of work to
another; and lastly, to the invention of a g_'eat number of machines
which facilitate and abridge labour, and enable one man to do the
work of many."
Smith was the first writer who laid much stress on the division of
labour. The force and the variety of the examples by which he has
illustrated it make the first chapter perhaps the most amusing and
the best known in his whole Work. But, like most of those who have
discovered a new principle, he has in some respects overstated, and
in others understated, its effects. His remark, " that the invention
of all those machines by which labour is so much facilitated and
 74 DIVISION OF LABOUR,

abridged seems to have been originally owing to the division of

labour." is too general. Many of our most useful implements have
been invented by persons neither mechanics by profession, nor them-
selves employed in the operations which those implements facilitate.
Arkwright was, as is well known, a barber; the inventor of the
power-loom is a clergyman, Perhaps it would be a nearer approach
to truth if we were to say that the division of labour has been occa-
sioned by the use of implements. In a rude state of Society, every
man possesses, and every man can manage, ever)" sort of instrument.
In an advanced state, when expensive machinery and an almost
infinite variety of tools have superseded the few and simple implements
of savage life, those only can profitably employ themselves in any
branch of manufacture who can obtain the aid of the machinery, and
have been trained to use the tools, by which its processes are facili-
tated; and the division of labour is the necessary consequence. :But, in
., fact, the use of tools and the division of labour so act and react on
one another, that their effects can seldom he separated in practice.
Every great mechanical invention is followed by an increased division
of labour, and every increased division of labour produces new inven-
tions in mechanism.
.Alterlussic
A l_eraposdt operareset eonjaratamice,
The increased dexterity of the workman, and the saving of the
time which would be test in passing from one sort of work to another,
deserve the attention which they have received from Adam Smith.
:Both are consequences, and the first is a very important consequence
of the division of labour. :But he has passed by, or at least has not
formally stated, other advantages derived from that principle which
appear to be far more important.
One of the principal of these advantages arises from the circum-
stance that the same exertions which are necessary to produce
single given result are often sufficient to produce many hundred or
many thousand similar results. The Post Office supplies a familiar
illustration. The same exertions which are necessary to send a
single letter from Falmouth to New York are sufficient to forward
fifty, and nearly the same exertions will forward ten thousand. If
every man were to effect the transmission of his own correspondence,
the whole life of an eminent merchant might he passed in travelling,
without his being able to deliver all the letters which the Post Office
forwards for him in a single evening. The labour of a few indivi-
duals, devoted exclusively to the forwarding of letters, produces
results which all the exertions of all the inhabitants of Europe could
not effect, each person acting independently.
The utility of government depends on this principle. In the rudest
state of society each man relies principally on himself for the protec-
tion both of his person and of his property. For these purp_ he
 DIVISION OF LABOUR. 7.5

must be always armed, and always watchful; what little property he

has must be moveable, so as never to be far distant from its owner.
Defence or escape occupy almost all his thoughts, and almost all his
time, and, after all these sacrifices, they are very imperfectly cffected.
"If ever you see an old mau here," said an inhabitant of the confines
of Abyssinia to Bruce, "he is a stranger ; the natives all die young
by the lance."
But the labeur which every individual, who relies on himself for
protection, must himself undergo, is more than sufficient to enabl8 a
few individuals to protect themselves, and also the whole of a numer-
ous community. To this may be traced the origin of governments.
The nucleus of every government must have been some person who
offered protection in exchange for submission. On the governor and
those with whom he is associated, or whom he appoints, is devolved
the care of defending the community from violence and fraud. And
so far as internal violence is concerned, and that is the evil most
dreaded in civilized society, it is wonderful how small a number of
persons can provide for the security of multitudes. About fifteen
thousand soldiers, and not fifteen thousand policemen, watchmen,
and officers of ,justice, protect the persons and property of the seven-
teen millions of inhabitants of Great Britain. There is scarcely a
trade that does not engross the labour of a greater number of persons
than are employed to perform this the most important of all services.
It is obvious, however, that the division of labour on which govern-
ment is founded, is subject to peculiar evils. Those who are to afford
protection must necessarily be intrusted with power ; and those who
rely on others for protection lose, in a great measure, the means and
the will to protect themselves. Under such circumstances, the
bargain, if it can be called one, between the government and its
subjects, is not conducted on the principles which regulate ordinary
exchanges. The government generally endeavours to extort from
its subjects, not merely a fair compensation for its services, but all
that force or terror can wring from them without injuring their powers
of further production. In fact, it does in general extort much niore :
for if we look through the world we shall find few governments whose
oppression does not materially injure the prosperity of their people.
When we read of African and Asiatic tyrannies, where millions seem
themselves to consider their own happiness as dust in the balance
compared with the caprices of their despot, we are inclined to suppose
the evils of misgovernment to be the worst to which man can be
exposed. But they are trifles compared to those which are felt
in the absence of government. The mass of the inhabitants of
Egypt, Persia, and Burnmh, or to go as low as perhaps it is possible,
the subjects of the Kings of Dahomi and Ashantee, enjoy security,
if we compare their situation with that of the ungoverned inhabitants
of New Zealand. So strongly is this felt, that there is no tyranny
76 DIVISION OF LABOUR.

which men will not eagerly embrace, if anarchy is to be the alternative.

Almost all the differences between the different races of men, differ-
ences so _eat that we sometimes nearly forget that they all belong
to the same species, may be traced to the degrees in which they
enjoy the blessings of good government. If the worst government be
better than anarchy, the advantages of the best must be incalculable.
But the best governments of which the world has had experience,
those of Great Britain and of the Countries which have derived their
institutions from Great Britain, are far from having attained the per-
fection of which they appear to be susceptible. In these governments
the subordinate duties are generally performed by persons specially
educated for these purposes, the superior ones are not. It seems to
be supposed that a knowledge of p,litics, the most extensive and the
most difficult of all Sciences, is a natural appendage to persons hold-
ing a high rank in society, or may be acquired at intervals snatched
from the bustle and the occupation of laborious and engrossing
professions. In despotisms, the principal evils arise partly from the
•ignorance, and partly from the bad passions of the rulers. In repre-
sentative governments, they arise principally from their unskilfulness.
It is to be hoped that a fm'ther application of the di_'ision of labour,
the principle upon which all government is founded, by providing an
appropriate education lbr those who are to direct the affairs of the
State, may protect us as effectually against suffering under ignorance
or inexperience in our governors, as we are now protected against
their injustice.
Another important consequence of the division of labour, and one
which Adam Smith, though he has alluded to it, has not prominently
stated, is the power possessed by every nation of availing itself, to a
certain extent, of the natural and acquired advantages of every other
portion of the commercial world. Colonel Torrens is the first writer
who has expressly connected foreign trade with the division of labour,
by designating international commerce as "the territorial division of
labour."
Nature seems to have intended that mutual dependence should
unite all the inhabitants of the earth into one commercial family. :For
this purpose she has indefinitely diversified her own products in every
climate and in almost every extensive district. :For this purpose,
also, she seems to have varied so extensively the wants and the pro-
ductive powers of the different races of men. The superiority of
modern over ancient wealth depends in a great measure on the greater
use we make of these varieties. We annually import into this Country
about thirty million pounds of tea. The who], expense of purchasing
and importing this quantity does not exceed ,£2,250,000, or about ls.
6d. a pound, a sum equal to the value of the labour of only forty-five
thousand men, supposing their annual wages to amount to £50 a-year.
With our agricultural skill, and our coal mines, and at the expen_
 DIVISION OF LABOUR. 77

of above 40s. a pound instead of ls. 6d., that is, at the cost of the
labour of about one million two hundred thousand men instead of
forty-five thousand, we might produce our own tea, and enjoy the
pride of being independent of China. But one million two hundred
thousand is about the number of all the men engaged in agricultural
labour throughout England. A single trade, and that not an extensive
one, supplies as much tea, and that probably of a better sort, as could
be obtained, if it were possible to devote ever)' farm and ever)" garden
to its domestic production.
The greater part of the advantage of rather importing than growing
and manufacturing tea arises, without doubt, from the difference
between the clim,tes of China al,d Engh_nd. Bat a great part also
arises from the different price of labour iu the two Countries. Not
only the cuhivation of the tea plant, but the preparation of its leaves,
requires much time and atteotlon. The m,mey wa_es of labour are
so low in C_lina, that these processes add httle to the money coat of
the tea. In England the expense would be intolerable. When a
nation, in which the powers of production, and coosequeut]y the wages
of labour, arc hig-h, employs its own members m performing duties
that could be as effectually performed by the tess valuable labour of
les_. elvihzed nations, it is guilty of the same folly as a tarmer who
should plough with a Race-hor_-e.
Another important consequence of the division of labour is the
existence of retail_.rs; a class who, without being themselves employed
in the direct production of raw or manufactured commodities, are, in
fact, the persons who supply them to their ul:imate purchasers, and
that at the times and in the portmns which tile convenience of those
purchasers requires. When we look at a map of London and its
sut,urbs, and consider that that p_owut.e covered witil houses contains
more than a tenth of the inhabitants _)f England, and consumes per-
h_lps one-fifth in value of all that is consumed in E,gland, and obtains
what it consumes, not from its own re_,uurces, but from the whole
civilized worhl, it seems marvellous that the daily supply of such
multitudes should be apportioned with _ny thing like accuracy to their
daily wants. It is effected prii,_cip,dly by means of the retailers.
F, aeh retailer, the centre of his own system of purchasers, knows, by
experience, the average amount ot their permdlcal wants. The
wholesale dealer, who forms the link between the actual producer or
importer, and the retailer, knows also, by expermnee, the average
amount of the demands of hi,_ own purchasers, the retailers; and is
governed by that experience in his purchases from the importer or
producer. And the average amouot of these last purchases affords
the data on which the importers and producers regulate tile whole
vast and muhifarious supply. It can seareety be necessary to dwell on
the further advantages derived from the readioess and subdivision of
the retailer's stock; or, to point out the convenience of having to buy
 78 DIVISION OF LABOUR.

a steak from a butcher, instead of an ox from a grazier. These are

the advantages to which we formerly referred, as enabling the retailer
to obtain a profit proportioned to the average time during which his
stock in trade remains in his possession.
We now proceed to show that the Division of Labour is mainly
dependent on Abstinenoe, or, in other words, on the use of Capital.
" In that ru,le state of society," says Adam Smith, "in which
there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made,
aud in which every man provides every thing for himself, it is not
necessary that any stock should be accumulated or stored up before-
hand in order to carry on the business of the society. :Every man
eodeavours to supply, by his own industry, his own occasional wants
as they occur. When he is hungry, he goes to the forest to hunt;
when his coat is worn out, he clothes himself with the skin of the first
large animal he kills; and when his hut begins to go to ruin, he
repairs it as well as he can with the trees and the turf that are
nearest to it.
" But when the division of labour has once been thoroughly intro-
duced, the produce of a man's own labour c_n supply but a very small
part of his occasional wants. The far greater part of them are sup-
plied by the produce of other men's labour, which be purchases with
tb_ ! -educe, or, what is the same thing, with the price of the produce
of his own. But his purchase cannot be made until such time as the
produce of his o_va labour has not only been completed, but sold.
A stock of goods of different kinds, therefore, must be stored up
s.mmwhere, sufficient to maintain him, and to supply }tim with the
materials and tools of his work, till such tim_, at least, as both these
events can be brought about. A weaver cannot apply himseif
entirely to his peculiar business, unless there is beforehand stored up
somewhere, either in his own possession, or in that of some other
person, a stock sufficient to maintain }tim, and to supply him with the
materials and tools of his work, till he has not only completed, but
sold his web. This accu,lmlation must evidently be previous to his
applying his industry for so long a time to such a peculiar business."
Wealth of Natlons, I_uok ii. Lztroduction.
Perhaps thi._ is inaccurately expressed; there are numerous cases
in which production and sale are contemporaneous. The most
important divisions of labour are those which allot to a few members
of the community the task of protccYng and instructing the remainder.
But their services are sold as they are performed. And the same
remark applies to almost all those products to which we give the
name of services. Nor is it absolutely necessary in any case, though,
if Adam Smith's words were taken literally, such a necessity might
be inferred, that, before a man dedicates himself to a peculiar branch
of production, a stock of goods should be stored up to supply b.ira with
uubsist_nce, materials, and tools, till his own product has been corn-
 DIVISION OF LABOUR. _'9

pleted and sold. That he must be kept supplied with those articles
is true; but they need not have been stored up before he first sets to
work, they may have been prod_lced while his work was in progress.
Years must often elapse between the commencement and sale of a
picture. :gut the painter's subsistence, tools, and materials for those
years are not stored up before he sets to work : they are produced
from time to time during' the course of his labour. It is probable,
however, that Adam Smith's real meaning was, not that the identical
supplies which will be wanted in a course of progressive industry
must be already collected when the process which they are to assist
or remunerate is about to be begun, but that a fund or source must
then exist from which they may be drawn as they are required. Tha_
fund must comprise in specie some of the things wanted. The painter
must have his canvas, the weaver his loom, and materials, not enough,
perhaps, to complete his web, but to commence it. As to those com-
modities, however, which the workman subsequently requires_ it is
enough if the fund on which he relies is a productive fund, keeping
pace with his wants, and virtually set apart to answer them.
But if the employment of capital is required ibr the purpose of
allowing a single workman to dedicate himself to one pursuit, it is still
more obviously necessary ill order to enable aggregations, or classes of
producers, to concur, each by his separate exertions, in one production.
Ill such cases even the mere matter of distribution, the mere appor-
tionment of the price of the finished commodity among the different
producers requires the e'rbplo_ment of a considerable capital, and for
a considerable time, or, in other words, a considerable exertion of
abstinence.
• The produc.¢of_ independent labour belongs
. by natm'e
. . to
Its producer. But where there has been a considerable d.vlsmn of
labour, the product has no one natural owner• If we were to attempt
to reckon up the number of persons engaged in producing a single
neckcloth, or a single piece of lace, we should fiud the number amount
to many thousands; in fact, to many tens of thousands. It is obviously
impossible that all these persons, even if they could ascertain their
respective rights as producers, should act as owners of the neckcloth
or the lace, and sell it for their common benefit.
This difficulty is got over by distinguishing those who assist i_
production by advancing capital, from those who contribute only
labour_a distinction often marked by the terms master and workman;
and by arranging into separate groups the different capitalists and
workmen engaged in distinct processes, and letting each capitalist, as
he passes on the commodity, receive from his immediate successor the
price both of his own abstinence and of his workmen's labour•
It may be interesting to trace this process in the history of a
coloured neckcloth or a piece of lace. The cotton of which it is
formed may be supposed to have been grown by some Tenessee or
Louisiana planter. For this purpose he must have employed labourers
80 DMSION OF LABOUR.

in preparing the soil and planting and attending to the shrub for more
than a year before its pod ripened. When the pod became ripe, con-
siderable labour, assisted by ingenious machinery, was necessary to
extricate the seeds fl'om the wool. The fleece thus cleaned was
carried down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and there sold to a
cotton fdctor. The price at which it was sold must have been sufficient,
in the first place, to repay to the phmter the wages which had been
paid by him to all those employed in its production and carriage; and,
seconclly, to pay him a profit prop,,rtioned to the time which had
elapsed between the payment of those wages and the sale of the
cotton; or. in other words, to remunerate him for his abstinence in
having so long deprived himself of the use of h,s money, or of the
pleasure which he might have received from the labour of his work-
people, if, instead of cultivating cotton, he had employed them in
contributing to his own immediate enjoyment. The New Orleans
factor, after keeping it perhaps five or s_x months, sold it to a Liverpool
merchant. Scarcely any labour could ha. e been expended on it at
:New Orleans, and, in the absence of accidental circumstances, its
price was increased only by the profit of the cotton factor, a profit
which was the remuneration of his abstinence in delaying, for five or
six months, the gratification which he might have obtained by the
expenditure on himself of the price paid by him to the planter. The
Liverpool merchant brought it to England and sold it to a Manchester
spinner. He mu._t have sold it at a price which would repay, in the
first place, the price at which it was bought from the factor at New
Orleans; in the s_,cond place, the freight from thence to Liverpool;
(which freight includes a portion of the wages of tile seamen, and of
the wages of those who built the vessel, of the profits of those who
advanced those wages before the vessel was completed, of the wages
and profits of those who imported the materials of which that vessel
was built, and, in fact, of a chain of wages and profits extended to
the earliest dawn of civilization;)and, thirdly, the merchant's profit
for the time that these payments were made before his sale to the
manufacturer was completed.
The spinner subjected it to the action of his work-people and
machinery, until he reduced part of it into the thread t_pplicable to
weaving muslin, and part into the still finer thread that can be formed
into lace.
Thc thread thus produced he sold to the weaver and to the lace-
maker; at a price repaying, in addition to the price that was paid to
the merchant, first, the wages of the work-people immediately engaged
in the manufacture; secondly, the wages and profits of all those who
supplied, by the labour of previous years, the buildings and machinery;
and, thirdly, the profit of the master spinner. It would be tedious to
trace the transmission of the thread from the weaver to the bleacher,
from the bleacher to the printer, from the printer to the wholesale
 AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING I_DUSTRY. _l

warehouseman, from him to the retailer, and thence to the ultimate

purchaser ; or even its shorter progress from the lace-maker to the
embroiderer, and thence to the ultimate purchaser. At every step a
fresh capitalist repays all the previous advances, subjects the article,
if unfinished, to further processes, advances the wages of those
engaged in its further manufacture and transport, and is uhimately
repaid, by the capitalist next in order, all his own advances, and a
profit proportioned to the time during which he has abstained from
the unproductive enjoyment of the capital thus employed.
It will be observed, that we have not mentioned the Taxation that
must have been incurred throughout the whole process which we have
described, or the Rent that must have been paid for the use of the
various appropriated natural agents whose services were requisite or
beneficial. We have left rent unnoticed, because its amount depends
so much on accident, that any further allusion to it would have much
increased the complexity of the subject. We have no|; expressly
mentioned taxation, because it is included under the heads which _e
have enumerated. The money raised by taxation is employed in
payiug the wages and profits of those wl_o perform, or cause to be
performed, the most important of all services, the protecting the
community from fraud and violence. Those who are thus eml)loycd
afford precisely the same assistance to the merchant or the manufac-
turer, as the private watchman who protects the warehouse, or the
smith who fortifies it with bars and padlocks.
Our limits prohibit our attempting to trace the gradual increase of
the value of a pound of cotton from the time it was gathered on the
banks of the Mississippi, till it appears in a Bond-Street window as a
piece of elaborate lace. We should probably be understating the
difference if we were to say that the last price was a thousand times
the first. The price of a pound of the finest cotton wool, as it is
gathered, is less than two shillings. A pound of the finest cotton
lace might easily be worth more than a hundred guineas. No means,
except the separation of the functions of the capitalist from those of
the labourer, and the constant advance of capital from one capitalist
to another, could enable so many thousand producers to direct their
efforts to one object, to continue them for so long a period, and to
adjust the reward for their respective sacrifices.

DEV_5OP_NT OF THE FOUlCTtt _LEMENTARY PROPOSITION OF THE

SCIENCE, NAMELY_

That A_'ultural Skill remaining the same, Additional Labour ernp_yed

o_ _ Land within a given district, produces in general a Less
P_" te Re_urn.
]bnbour when employed in _Ylnnufnctures i_ IYIORE, when
eNalsioy_l in Agriculture is ]bE_N, efficient in proportion.--Bef0re we

quit the subject of Production, it is necessary to explain an important

G
82 AGRICULTURALA_XDMANUFACTURINGI-NDUSTRY.

difference between the efficiency of the different productive instruments

when employed in cultivating the eartil, and their efficiency when
employed in preparing for human use the raw produce obtained by
agriculture: or, in other words, between the efficiency of Agricultural
and 3Ianufacturin_ Industry. In the course of this discussion we
shall illustrate the last of the four elementary propositions on which we
behove the Science of Political Economy to rest; namely, that, agr_-
c_dtural skill remaini_y the same, addztio_ml lahour employed on the lar_d
_vithin a yiven di_t_qct produces in general a less proportionate relur_.
The difference between the efficiency of agricultural and of manu-
facturing industry which we have now to cmJsider, consists in the
power which agricuhural industry possesses, and manufacturing
industry does not possess, of obtaining an additional product from the
same materials. We have seen that the use of implements and the
division of labour assist the exertions of man to an extent quite incal-
culable at present, and apparently capable &indefinite increase. But
manufacturing improvements, though they enable one man to do the
work of hundreds or of thousands.--though they enable the same
amount of labour employed on the same materials to produce a more
and more useful commodity, cannot enable tile same amount of labour,
or even increased labour, employed on the same quantity of mater&Is,
to produce a much larger amount of finished work of the same quality,
than could have been produced before. If the labour and the skill
now employed throughout England on the manufacture of cotton were
doubled, but the quantity of raw materials remained the same, the
quantity of manufactured produce could not be sensibly increased.
The value of that produce might perhaps be much increased; it might
be made much finer, and consequently of greater length or breadth;
but supposing the quality of the produce unaltered, its quantity could
be increased only by the saving which might be made of that small
portion of the raw material which now is wasted.
The case of agriculture is different. Those regions, indeed, which
lie within the limits of perennial snow, or consist of rock or loose
sand, or precipitous mountain, are unsusceptible of improvement. But
with these exceptions, the produce of every extensive district seems
capable of being almost indefinitely increased by constantly increasing
the labour bestowed on it, Nothing appears more hopelessly barrett
than an extensive bog, with its black-looking pools and rushy vegeta-
tion. But, by draining, hv burning the limestone on which, in
Ireland at least, it generally rests, and by employing the lime to
convert the matted fibres of the turf into a vegetable mould, the bog
may be made not only productive but fertile. There are about thirty-
seven millions of acres in England and Wales. Of these it has been
calculated that not eighty-five thousand, less in fact than one four-
hundredth part, are in a state of high cultivation, as hop grounds,
nursery grounds, and fruit and kitchen gardens; and that five millions
 AGI:_ICI'LTURALAND MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRY. _3

are waste. All that is not waste is productively employed, but hew
small is its produce compared to the amount to which unlimited
labour and abstinence might raise it! If the utmost use were n,ade
of lime, and marl, and the other mineral manures; if hy a perfect
system of drainage and irrigation water were nowhere allowed to t,e
excessive or deficient; if all our wastes were protected by enclosure_
and planting; if all the laud in tillage, instead of being scratched 1,v
the plough, were deeply and repeatedly trenched by manual labgm:.
if minute care were employed in the selecting and planting of every
seed or root, and watchfulness sufficient to prevent the appearance of
a weed; if all live stock, instead of being pastured, had their food cut
and brought to them: in short, if the whole Country were subjected to
the labour which a rich citizen lavishes on his patch of suburban gar-
den: if it were possible that all thi_ should be effeeted, the agricultural
produce of the Country might be raised to ten times, or indeed t(,
much more than ten times, its present amount. No additional labour
or machinery can work up a pound of raw cotton into more than a
pound of manulactured cotton; but the same bushel of seed-corn, and
the same rood of land, according to the labour at)d skill with whicil
they are treated, may produce four bushels, or eight bushels, or sixteen.
But although the land in England is capable of producing ten
times, or more than ten times as much as it now produces, it i¢
probable that its present produce will never be quadrupled, and almost
certain that it will never be decupled.
On the other hand, unless our manufaetures be checked by war. or by
the continuance or introduction of legislative enactments unfavourable
to their progress, their produce may increase during the next eentm'v
at the same rate, or at a still greater rate, than it increased during tl_e
last century. It may be quadrupled, or much more than quadrupled.
The advantage possessed by land in repaying increased labour, ti_ough
employed on the same materials, with a constantly increasing produce.
is overbalanced by the diminishing proportion which the increase ot
the produce generally hears to the increase of the labour. And the
disadvantage of manufactures in requiring for every increase of produce
an equal increase of materials, is overbalanced by the eonstantlyinereas-
ing facility with which the increased quantity of materials is worked up.
A century ago the average annual import of cotton wool into Great
Britain was about one million two hundred thousand pounds. The
amount now annually manufactured in Great Britain exceeds two
}mndred and fort)- millions of pounds. :But though the materials now
manufactured are increased at least two hundred times, it is obvious
that the labour necessary to manufacture them has not increased two
hundred times. It may be doubted whether it bas increased thirty
times. The whole number of families in Great Britain, exclusively of
those employed in agriculture, amounted, at the enumeration in 1_ o1,
to 2,453,041; if we suppose the transport, manufacture, anal sale of
 54 AGRICULTURALAND MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRY.

cotton to employ about one-eighth of them, or about 300,000 families,

it is a large allowance. But with the inefficient machinery in use a
century ago, the annual manufacture of one million two hundred
thousand pounds of cotton could not have required the annual labour
of less than ten thousand families. It probably required many more.
The result has been that, although we now require two hundred times
as much of the raw material as was required a century ago, and
although that additional quantity of raw material is probably obtai,led
from the soil by more than two hundred times the labour that was
necessary to obtain the smaller quantity, yet, in consequence of the
diminution of the labour necessary to manufacture a given amount,
. the price of the manufactured commodity, (a price which exhibits the
sum of the labour necessary for both obtaining the materials and
working them up) has constantly diminished, in 1786, when our
annual import was about twenty millions of pounds of cotton wool. the
price of the yarn denominated No. 100 was 3Ss. a pound. In 1792,
when the import amounted to thirty-four millions of pounds, the price
of the same yarn was 16s. a pound. In 1800, wh¢-.ntim import
:,mounted to sixty millions, the price of the yarn had fallen to 7s. 2d.
a T)ound; and with the increased quantity manufactured, it has now
fallen below 3s. a pound. :Every increase in the quantity manufac-
tured has been accompanied by improvements in machinery, and au
increased division of labour, and their effects have much more than
balanced any increase which may have taken place in the proportion-
ate labour necessary to produce the raw material.
The proposition that, in agriculture, additional labour generally
produces a less proportionate result, or, in other words, that the
labour of twenty men employed on the land within a given district,
though it will certainly produce more than that of ten men, will sel-
dom produce twice as much, will be best illustrated by confining our
attention to a single example.
We will suppose a farm consisting of one thousand acres, two
hundred very good land, three hundred merely tolerable, and the
remainder barren down, affording only a scanty sheep-walk. We
will suppose the farmer to employ upon it twenty men, and to obtain
an average annual product, which, to reduce it to a single denmnina-
tion, we will call six hundred quarters of wheat. We will suppose
him now to double the number of his labourers, and we shall see what
probability there is that the produce will consequently be doubled. If
the twenty additional labourers are employed in cultivating the down
land, they must necessarily produce a less return than that which is
produced on the other land by the previous twenty, as the land is
supposed to be worse. It is equally clear that their labour, if applied
to the land already in cultivation, will be less productive than the
labour previously applied to it; or, in other words, that the produce
of that land, though increased, will not be doubled, since on no other
 AGRICULTURALAND MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRY. 80

principle can we account for any land except the very best having
been ever cultivated. For if the farmer could have gone on applying
additional labour to land already in cultivation without any diminution
in the proprotionate return, it is clear that he never woul_t have culti-
vated the three hundred acres of inferior land. In fact, if this were
the case, if additional labour employed in agriculture gave a propor-
tionate return, he never need have cultivated more than a single acre,
or even a single rood. It is probable that in the supposed case he
would employ some of his additional labourers in breaking up a
portion of the down, and some of them in cultivating more highly the
land already in tillage. So employed, they might produce an ad&-
tional crop of four hundred, or five hundred, or five hundred and fifty
quarters, but it is certain that the additional crop wo_fld not be eqm;.1
to the whole six hundred previously obtained: the produce would be
increased, but would not be doubled.
This imaginary farm is a miniature of the whole Kingdom. We
have in ]_ngland large tracks of barren waste, and we have under
cultivation soil of every description of fertility, from that which pro-
duces forty bushels of wheat an acre, to that which produces, with
the same labour, and on the same extent of land, only twelve ,,r
thirteen. If additional produce is to be raised, the resource, gent_rally
speaking, must be either the cultivation of what has been as ve_
untilled on account of its barrenness, or the employment of additional
labour on what is now in cultivation. That in either case the addi-
tional produce is not likely to be in the pro_*ortion of the additiotial
labour, is as obvious in the ease of the whole' Kingdom, as it has
appeared to be in that of a single farm.
But the proposition which we have been endeavouring to illustrate.
though general, is not universal; it is smject to material exceptions.
In the first place, the negligence or ignorance of the occupier, or
proprietor, or obstacles tff ownership, often prevent for a tong time
particular portions of land from being subjected to the average degree
of labour bestowed on land of equal capability. Increased labour,
when at length bestowed on land so circumstanced, may fairly be
expected to be as productive, indeed more productive, than the average
of agricultural labour. Advantages of this kind have sometimes
been derived from extensive operations of drainage and embankment;
but the chances of great profit are so apt to blind men to the amount
of physical obstacles, that projects of this kind are perhaps more fre-
quently attempted prematurely, than deferred till after the time when
an increased demand for raw produce first rendered them fair specu-
lations. Undertakings which have been postponed in consequence of
obstacles arising from ownership, are far more frequently productive.
The enclosure of a ton'men often subjects to the plough land of which
the former unproductiveness was not owing to deficient fertility.
Effects similar in kind, though not in degree, often take place when
SG AGRICULTURALAND MANUFACTURINGINDUSTRY.

an estate becomes unfettered, after the title has been long so cireum-
staneed that the farmers could not rely on the duration or renewal of
their leases. In these cases considerable additional produce may
often be obtained by a comparatively small addition of labour.
But the most important exception to the general rule takes place
when increase of labour is accompanied by increase of skill. More
er_eieut implements, a better rotation of crops, a greater division of
labour, in short, improvements in the art of azriculture gencral:y
accompany the increase of aqrieultural labour. They always accom-
pany that increase when it is accompanied by an increase _f tile
capital as well as of the population of a Country: and they always
counteraet, and often outweigh, the inferiority or diminished _ propor.
ti,mal powers of the soil to which they are applied.
The total amount of the annual agricultural produce of Great Britain
has much more than doubled during the last hundred years; but it is
highly improbable that the amount of labour annually employed
in agriculture has also doubled. It is not supposed that durin z that
period the population of Great Britain has more than doubled; and
the principal increase has till b_tclv been in the manufacturing districts.
The last hundred years, with all their misfortunes, form the most
prosperous period of our tlistory. We owe to them the enclosure of
millions of acres formelly almost useless common fields; we owe to
them almost all that we possess that deserves the name of Agricultural
Science; and we owe to them also all the canals, and almost all the
roads, which, by obviatiu< in a great measure the accidents of situation,
enable the amount of labonr to hear throughout the Kingdom some-
_hing like an avera;ze proportion to the quality of the soil on which
it is employed. It is possible, though certainly not prob._ble, that
our progress may be equal during the next hundred years; but though
indefinite, it certainly cam_ot be infinite. It is obviously impossible that
the produce of the soil of a given district can increase geometrically
for ever. whatever be the amount of the labour employed on it.
On the other band, every increase in the number of manufacturin_
labourers is accompanied not merely by a corresponding, but by an
increased productive power. If three hundred thousand families are
nosy employed in Great Britain to manufacture and trar.sport two
h,mdred and forty millions of pounds ot cotton, it is absolutely certain
that six hundred thousand families could manufacture and transport
four hundred and eighty millions of pounds of'cotton. It is, in fact,
certain that they could do much more. It is not improbable that
they could manufacture and transport seven hundred and twenty
miliions. The only check by which we can predict that the progress
of our manufactures will in time be retarded, is the increasing difficulty
of importing materials and food. If the importation of raw produce
could keep pace with the power of working it up, there would be no
limit to the increase of wealth and population.
 DISTltIBVTION OF WEALTH.

OF the three great branches of Political Economy, the Nature, the

Production, and the Distribution of Wealds, we have now considered
the two former, and we proceed to treat of the last, namely, of the
laws according to which all that is produced is DistribuZed among
those who become its ultimate consumers. In that state of society
which is presupposed by the Political Economist, this is principally
affected by means of Exchange. We may indeed conceive a state of
human existence admitting of this distribution without the interven-
tion of Exchanges. But such a situation of society, if it can be
called society, neither deserves nor requires scientific investigation.
Political Economy considers men in that more advanced state, which
nlay fairly be called their natural state, since it is the state to which
they are impelled by the provisions of nature, in which each indi-
vidual relies on his fellows for the greater part, in many cases for the
whole of what he consumes, and supplies his own wants i,rine,paliy
or wholly by the Exchanges in which he contributes to theirs.
But we must admit that we use each of the words Production
and Exchange in a sense rather more extensive than is usual. We
have already stated that we apply the word Pr_Jduction to much that
would commonly be called appropriation, and that we include under
Exchanges wh_t are usually termed public burdens. We consider
all that is received by the ot_cers of government as given in Exchange
for Services affording protection, more or less complete, against
foreign or domestic violence or fraud. It is true, as we have
already remarked, that this Exchange is conducted on peculiar prin-
ciples. In those governments which are not democratic or repre-
sentative, the rulers themselves assess the amount which they are
to receive, and generally assess it at the utmast, which, under such
circumstances, can be extorted tram their subjects. And even under
representative or democratic institutions, no individual inhabitant is
permitted to refuse his share of the general contribution, though he
should disclaim his share in the general protection. :But the trans-
action, though often involuntary, and still mare often inequitablt_,
is still an Exchange, and on the whole a beneficial exchange. The
worst and most inefficient government affords to its subjects a
cheaper and a more effectual Protection than they could obtain by
their individual and unaided exertions.
The laws by which Exchanges are regulated may be divided into
88 DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.

two great branches. The one comprises those laws which apply
generally to all Exchanges; the other those which apply specifically
to the respective kinds of Exchanges in which the owners of the dif-
ferent Productive Instruments exchange specifically with one another
the Produce of those Instruments.
In treating of the one, we have to consider the general laws which
regulate Exchanges; in treating of the other, the relative pr_por-
tion_ in which different classes of the community benefit by those
laws. The things exchanged will be the principal subjects of the one
di._cussion, the exchanging parties of the other.
One of the greatest di_eult]es to which a writer on Political
Economy is exposed, arises from the mutual dependence of the
different propositions constituting the Science; a dependence which
makes it difficult to explain any one without a frequent allusion to
many others. And this is particularly the case with respect to distri-
bution. The proportions in which different classes of the community
are entitled to the things that arc produced, cannot be explained
without a constant reference to the general Laws of Exchange ; and,
on the other hand, those Laws cannot be discussed without a constant
reference to the exchanging parties. Admitting, as we are fo_'ced to
do, that no arrangement can be free from objection, we have thought
that the least objectionable mode of presenting the subject of distribu-
tion will be to begin by a general classification of the parties among
whom the results of the different instruments of production aro
divided; then to proceed to state the general taws of exchange; and,
lastly, to point out the general circumstances which decide in what
proportions the different classes of the community share in the general
distribution.
_OCIETYDIVIDEDINTOT_I[_EE(]LASSES--L_BoURERS,CAPIT.4LISTS,AND
._ROP[_IETORS
OF _ATURALAGENTS.

According to the usual language of Political Economists, Labour,

Capital, and Land are the three Instruments of Productiot_; Labourers,
Capitalists, and Landlords are the three classes of Producers; and
the whole Produce is divided into Wages, Profit, and Rent: the first
designating the Labourer's share, the second that of the Capitalist,
and the third that of the Landlord. We approve, on the whole, of
the principles on which this classification is founded, but we have been
forced, much against our will, to make considerable alterations in the
language in which it has been usually expressed ; to add some hew
terms, and to enlarge or contract the signification of some othsrs.
]t appears to us that, to have a nomenclature which shonhl fully
and precisely indicate the facts of the case, not less than _welvc dis-
tinct terms would be necessary. For each class there ought to be a
name for the In_rument employed or exercised, a name for the C/ass
of persons who employ or exercise it, a name for _he Act of employ-
 SOCIETY DIVIDED INT0 THREE CLASSES. 89

ing or exercising it, and a name for the Share of the produce by
which that act is remunerated. Of these terms we have not much
more than half, as will appear if we examine each class separately.
Nomenclature applicable to the First Cla_s, the iabonrers.--_or the
first class we have the terms "to Labour," "a Labourer," and
r ,,
" _ a_es. Neither of these terms expresses the instruments of
production: the substantive "labour'" and the verb " to labour,"
express merely an act. " A labourer," is an agent, and wages are
a result : but what is the thing employed ._ what is it that the labourer
exerts ._ Clearly his mental or bodily faculties. With the addition
of this term the nomenclature of the first class _ill be complete. To
Labour is to employ strength of body or mind for the purpose of Pro-
duction; the person who does so is a Labourer, arid Wages are his
remuneration.
Nomenclatu_ npplicable to the _iccoud Cht_, the Capilalis_.--[H

the second class we have the words Capital, Capitalist, and Profit.
These terms express the instrument, the person who employs or
exercises it, and his remuneration; but there is no familiar term to
express the act, the conduct of which profit is the reward, and which
bears the same relation to profit which labour does to wages. To
this conduct we have already given the name of Abstinence. The
addition of this term will complete the nomenclature of the secund
class. Capital is an article of wealth, the result of human exertion,
employed in the production or distribution of Wealth. Abstinence
expresses both the act of abstaining from the unproductive use of
capital, and also the similar conduct of the man who devotes his
labour to the production of remote rather than of immediate results.
The person who so acts is a Capitalist, the reward of his conduct is
Profit.
Nomenclature applicable to the Third flus, the proprietors of

Natural A_ent_.--'I'he defectiveness of the established nomel_clature is

more striking when we come to the third class. Wages and Profits
are the creation of man. They are the recompense for the sacrifice
made in the one case, of ease, in the other, of immediate enjoyment.
But a considerable part of the produce of every country is tile recom-
pense of no sacrifice whatever; is received by those _ho neither
labour nor put by, but merely hold out their hands to accept the
offerings of the rest of the community.
The powers of nature, as distinguished from those of man, are
neeessary to afford a field for the exercise of human abstinence and
lahore'. Of these, some from their abundance and the notoriety of the
means of employing them, are incapable of appropriation. Being
universally accessible, they bear no price notwithstanding their utility;
and what has been produced with their assistance has no value beyond
that of the labour and abstinence which it has cost. It sells therefore
for a price equal to, but not exceeding, the sum of the wages and
 90 Pn0P_IETORS OF NATURAL AGENTS.

profits which must be paid if the production is to be continued. The

agency of nature is equally essential to the production of timber in the
forests of Upper Canada and in England. But the supply of timber
in the forests of Upper Canada is practically unlimited. No portion
of the price of a Canadian hut is paid for the agency of nature in
producing the logs of which it is constructed. The pine while
standing was valueless. The purchaser pays only for the labour and
abstinence necessary to fell and to fashion it.
But the assistance of an Appropria_ Natural Agent may render
possible the production of a commodity more valuahle than tl_e result
of equal labour and abstinence without such assistance. Such a
commodity sells for a price exceeding the sum of the wages and profits
which are sufficient to repay the capitalist and the labourer who have
been employed on it. The surplus is taken by the proprietor of the
natural agent, and is his reward, not for having laboured or abstained,
but simply for not having withheld what he was able to withhold; for
having permitted the gifts of nature to be accepted.
If we subtract from the price of an English oak what must be paid
for the labour of him who planted the sapling, and for the abstinence
of those who allowed it to grow for a century, still something is to be
paid for the use of the land by which it was nourished. And that is
the price of the agency not of man but of nature.
Of the Agents afforded by nature, the principal is the Land, with its
Rivers, Ports, and Mines. In the rare cases in which the quantity of
useful land is practically unlimited, a state of things which occurs
only in the early stages of colonization, Land is an agent universally
accessible, and, as nothing is paid for its use, the whole produce
belongs to the cultivators, and is divided, under the names of wages
and profit, between the capitalists and the labourers, of whose
abstinence and industry it is the result.
But in all old Countries, and even in colonies within a very few
years after their foundation, certain Lands, from peculiar advantages
_,f soil or situation, are found to make more than the average return
to a given expenditure of capital and industry. The proprietor of such
lands, if he cultivate them himself, receives a surplus after having paid
the wages of his labourers and deducted the profit to which he is
entitled on his capital. He of course receives the same surplus if,
instead of cultivating them himself, he lets them out to some other
capitalist. The tenant receives the same profit, and the labourers
receive the same wages as if they were employed on land possessing
merely average natural advantages; the surplus forms the rent of the
proprietor, or, as we usually term him, the landlord. The whole
produce, instead of two, is divided into three shares--Rent, Profit, and
Wages. If the owner is also the capitalist or farmer, he receives two
of these shares, both the profit and the rent. If he allow it to be
cultivated by the capital of another, he receives only rent. Bat rent,
 PROPRIETORS OF NATUtL-'_I, AGENTS. 91

with or without_ profit, he necessarily receives. And when tile whole

of a Country has been appropriated, though it be true, as will be
shown hereafter, that some of the produce is raised by the applieatiml
of additional capital without payment of additional rent, and may
therefore be said to be raised rent free, yet it is equally true that a
rent is received fro._l ever)" cultivated acre; a rent rising or falling
according to the accidents of soil mid situation, but the necessary
result of limited extent and productive power.
It is _;bvious, however, as we have already stated, that land though
the principal, i_ not the only natural agen_ that can be appropriated.
The mere knowledge of the operations of nature, as long as the use of
that knowledge can be confined either by secrecy or by law, creates a
r_venue to its possessor analogous to the rent of land. The knowledge
of the effect on the fibres of cotton of rollers moving with different
velocities, enabled a village barber to found iu a wry few years a
m(_re than aristocratic fortune. Still greater wealth might probably
ha_e been acquircd by Dr. Jenner, if he could have borne somewhat
to limit the benefits which he has conferred on mankind.
When the auth_)r of a useful discovery puts it himself in practice,
he is like a prot, rictor f-trming his own property; the produce, after
]_ying average wa_'es for the labonr and average profits for the
_.apital employed, affords _o still further revenue, the effect not of
that capital or of that labour, but of the discovery, the creation not
of man but of nature. If, instead of using it himself, he let out to
another the privilege of using it, be obtains a revenue so precisely
resembling the rent of land, that it often receives the same l_ame.
The payment made by a nmT)ufacturcr to a patentee for the privilege
of using the patent process, is u_ual.ly termed, in commercial language,
a RE_'T ; and under the same tread must be ranked all the peculiar
advantages of situation or conuectiotl, a_d all extraordinary qualitms
of body and mind. The sur]dus revelme which they occasion beyond
average wage_ and profits is a revenue for which no additional sacri-
fice has been made. The proprietor of these advantages differs from
a landlord only in the circumstance that he cannot in general let them
out to be used by another, and must consequently either allow them
to be useless or turn them to account himself. He is forced, there-
fore, always to employ on them his own industry, and generally his
own capital, and receives not only rent, but wages and profit. If,
therefore, the established division is adhered to, and all that is pro-
duced is to be divided into rent, profit, and wages,--and ce-tainly that
appears to be the mo.-t convenient classification, and if wages and
profit are to be considered as the rewards of peculiar sacrifices, the
former the remuneration for labour, and the latter for abstinence from
immediate enjoyment, it is clear that under the term " rent" must
be included all that is obtained without any sacrifice; or, which is the
same thing, beyond the remuneration for that sacrifice; all that nature
97 PROPRIETORS OF NATURAL AGENTS.

or fortune bestows either without any exertion on the part of the

recipient, or in addition to the average remuneration for the exercise
of industry or the employment of capital.
But though we see no objection to this extension of the word rent,
the terms land and landlord are too precise to admit of being equally
extended. It would be too great an innovation to include under the
term land every natural agent which is capable of appropriation, or
under the term landlord every proprietor of such an agent. For these
terms we must substitute those of natural agent, and proprietoT of a
natural agent. And the third class wilt th(-n have a term for the
third instrument of production, a term for the owner of that instru-
ment, and a term tbr the share which he receives of the produce:
terms corresponding with the terms faculties of body and miml,
labourer and wages, as applied to the first class, and with capital.
capitalist, and profit, as applied to the second. We shall still want
a term corresponding with labour and ahstlnence,--a term indicating
the conduct which enables the proprietor of a natural agent to receive
a rent. But as this conduct implies no sacrifice,--as it consists
merely in not suffering the instrument of which he is the owner to be
useless, it perhaps does not require a distinct designation. When a
man possesses an estate, we take it for granted that he does not
allow it to lie waste, but either uses it himself, or lets it to a tenant.
In ordinary language the receipt of rent is included under the term
ownership. There will therefore be little danger of obscurity if' we
consider the word "possess," when applied to the proprietor of a
natural agent, as implying the receipt of the advantages afforded by
that agent, or, in other words, of rent. Talents, indeed, often lie
idle, but in that case they may be considered for economical purposes
as not possessed. In fact, unaccompanied by the will to use them_
they are useless.
:But though the whole produce may be considered as divided into
three shares, one which is taken by the capitalists, another by the
labourers_ and another by the proprietors of the natural agents which
have concurred in the production, it is very seldom that any given
commodity, or the produce of any one productive exertion, is thus
actually divided. The nearest approach to it takes place in those
eases in which producers belonging to different classes become partners,
and agree that the produce of their joint exertions shall be sold and
the price divided between them. Such a partnership is often formed
between a capitalist and his labourers when the success of the enter-
prise depends much on the zeal of the labourers, and the capitalist
is unable to overlook them. Such is the case in the Greenland fishery.
The men seldom receive preascertaincd wages, but, on the termina-
tion of the voyage, the blubber is sold, and the price divided between
the owners and the crew. The practice is the same in privateering,
and probably in many other maritime speculations. Somewhat aimilar
 PROPRIETORS OF NATURALAGENTS. 93

is the mode of letting land called the mftayer system. Under that
system, which is still common on the Continent of Europe, and probably
is always to be found in a certain state of society, the la_ldlord supplies
tile capital as well as the land, and receives half the crop, the remainder
forming the wages of the tenant or head labourer, and of the iuferiev
work-people in his employ. But these are exceptions occasioned by
the peculiarities of tim adventure, or by tlle poverty or ignorance of
imperfect civilization. The usual practice is to consider one of the
parties as entitled to tile whole product, paying to the others a price
for their co-operati,m. The person so entitled is uniforndy the
c'q)italist : the sums which he pays for wages and rent are the pur-
chase-money for the services of the labourer, and for the use of the
natural agent employed.
In most cases a considerable interval elapses between the period
at which the natural agent and the b_bourer are first employed, and
the completion of the product. In this climate the harvest is seldom
reaped until nearly a year after it has been sown; a still ]on_er time is
required for the "maturity of oxen; and a longer still for that of a
horse; and sixty or seventy years may pass between the commence-
meter of a plantation, and the time at which the timber is saleable.
It is obvious that neither the landlord nor the labourer, as such, can
wait during all this interval for their remuneration. The doing so
would, in f_ct, be an act of abstinence. It would be the employ-
ment of land and labour in order to obtain remote results. This
sacrifice is made by the capitalist, and he is repaid for it by his
appropriate remuneration, profit. He advances to the landlord and
tile labourer, and in most cases to some previous capitalist, the price
of their respective assistance; or, in other words the hire of the
land and capital belonging to one, and of the mental and bodily powers
of another, and becomes solely entitled to the whole of the product.
The success of his operations depends on the proportion which the
value of that produce, (or, in commercial language, the value of his
returns,) bears to the value of his advances, taking into consideration
the time for which those advances have been made. If the value of
the return is inferior to that of the advance, he is obviously a loser;
he is a loser if it be merely equal, as he has incurred abstinence
without profit, or, in ordinary language, has lost the interest on his
capital. He is a loser even if tile value of his returns do not exceed
that of his advances by an amount equal to the current rate of profit
for the period during which the advance has been made. In any of
these eases the product is sold, so far as the capitalist is concerned,
for less than the cost of its production. The employment of capital,
ther_ore, is necessarily a speculation; it is the purchase of so much
productive power which may or may not occasion a remunerati,-e
return.
The common language of Economists, therefore, which describes
34 PROPRIETORS OF NATURAL AGENTS.

tile landlord, the capitalist, and the labourer as sharers of the produce,
is a fiction. Almost all that is produced is in the first instance tlw
property of the capitalist; he has purchased it by having previously
paid the rent and wages, and incurred or paid for the abstinence,
which were necessary to its production. A portion of it, but generally
a small portion, he consumes himself in the state in which he receives
it; the remainder he sells. He may, if lie think fit, employ the
price of all that he sells in purchases for his own gratification: but
he cannot remain a capitalist unless he consent to employ some portion
of it in the hire of the land and labour, by the assistance of which
the process of production is to be continued or reeommenced, tie
cannot, generally speaking, fully retain his situation as a capitalist
unless he employ enough to hire as much land and labour as before;
and if lie wish to raise himself in the world, tie must, generally
speaking, not merely keep up, but increase the sum which he devotes
to the purchase of productive force. If, for instance, he has hired
the use of a farm for a year for £1000. and has paid £2000 more as
wages to his labourers, and ha_ expended £10(_0 in the purchase,
from other capitalists, of Agrieuhural stock, and at the end of the
year has sold the produce for £4400, he may, if he like, spend on
lfis ewn _ratification the whole of that. £4400; or he may so spend
only £400, and employ the rest in hiring the farm and the labourers,
and purchasing stock fbr another year; or he may spend on himself
only £200, and by employing productively £4200 instead of .£4000,
hire more land, or more labourers, or parchase more stock and pro_'ide
for the increase of his capital and his profit. But in whatever way
lie employ his £4400, tie still must pay it to landlords, (using that
word to comprise all proprietors of natural agents,) capitalists, and
labourers.
It has been objected, however, that this nomenclature is incomplete.
Rent, profit, and wages, it has been said, designate only those portions
of the annual produce which the producers consume for their own
gratification. They form the revenue of a nation. A further portion
and a very large one, must be employed, not as revenue, but as capital:
not in directly supplying the wants or directly ministering to the
enjoyments of either landlords, labourers, or capitalists, but merely
in keeping up the instruments of production. Thus of the farmer's
whole return, which we have supposed to be of the value of £4400,
we may suppose a portion, amounting in value to £°00, to have con-
sisted of corn which he returned to the earth as seed, and another
portion amounting to the same value, to have consisted of' the forage
which lie gave to his working cattle. It has been said that neither
this seed nor this forage was rent, profit, or wages.
The answer to this objection is, that the seed-corn and forage in
question were the result of land, labour, and abstinence; they were
entitled, therefore, when produced, to be denominated rent, wages,
 EXCHANGE. 96

or profit, and the circumstance that they were employed to produce

future instead of immediate gratification, does not vary their character.
When produced, they were revenue: their conversio_ into capital
was a subsequent accident. No one would except against the expres-
sion that such and such a labourer has saved part of his _vaqes and
employed them in stocking his garden. If the words revenue and
income were co-extensive with expenditure, the common statement.
that a man is living within his income, would be a contradiction in
terms.
Perhaps this may be made clearer if we retrace the history of
capital.
The primary instruments of pro_iuction were labour, and those
productive agents which are spontaneously afforded by nature. The
first dwellers on the earth had only rent and wages. The savage
who, instead of devouring the animals which he had entrapped, reserved
them to become the origin of a domesticated flock, and he who reserved.
to he employed as seed, some of the grains which he had gathered.
laid the foundation of capital. The produce of that flock and of that
seed was partly rent, partly wages, and partly profit. And it did m)t
cease to be so, although he refused to employ the whole of _t on his
immediate gratification.
It must be admitted, however, that the portion of the annual produc,,
which is employed in the production or the suppurt of brute or inani-
mate capital is not usually termed rent, wages, or profit. It has not.
in fact, any specific name. ]_ut it appears to us to be the most
philosophical arrangement to cow,sider it as rent, wages, or profit,
according to the character of its proprietor, without regard to its sub-
sequent destination.
EXC'HANOE.

Having made this general classification of the parties among whom

the results of the different productive instruments are divided, we now
proceed to consider the general law_ _hich regulate the proportions
in which those results are exchanged for one another. To a certain
degree this question was considered when we treated of value; but
not having at that time explained the words production, wages, profit,
or rent, we were unable to do more than to state and illustrate the
/bllowing propositions :-
First, that aJl those things, and those things only, are susceptible
of exchange, which, being transferable, are hmited in supply, and are
eapablo, directly or indirectly, of affording pleasure or preventing
pare; a capacity to which we have a_xed the name of utility.
Secondly, that the reciprocal values of any two things, or, in other
words, the quantity of the one which will exchange for a given quantity
of tim other, depend on two sets of causes; those which occasion the
utility and limit the supply of the one, and those which limit the
96 PRICE.

supply and occasion the utility of the other. The causes which occa-
sion the utility and limit the supply of any given commodity or service,
we denominated the ivdrlnsic causes of its value. Those which limit
the supply and occasion the utility of the commodities or services for
which it is capable of being exchanged, we denominated the extrinsic
causes of its value. And, tlnrdly, that comparative limitation oi
supply, or, to speak more familiarly, though less philosophically,
compaiatlve scarcity, though not sui_cient to constitute value, is by
far its most important element; utility, or, in other words, demand,
beih_ mainly dependent on it. We had nut then shown the means
by which supply is effectcd. Having done this, having shown that
human Labour and Ai)_-tinence, and tile spontaneous agency of Nature,
are the three instruments of production, we are at liberty to explain
what are the obstacles which limit the supply of all that ,s produced,
and the mode in which those obstacles affect the reciprocal values of
the different subjects of exchange.
rrie,..--In the following discussion, however, we shall in general
substitute price, or v,,lue in mo,_ey, for general value.
The general value of any commodity, that is, the quantity of all the
other subjects of exchange which might be obtained in return for a
given quantity of it, is incapable of being ascertained. Its specific
value in any other commodity may be ascertained by the experiment
,if an exchange; the anxiety of each party in the exchange to give as
little and obtain as nmch as possible, leading him to investigate, as
accurately as he can, the intrinsic causes giving value to each of the
articles to be exchanged. This is, however, a troublesome operation,
and many expedients are used to diminish its frequency. The most
obvious one is to consider a single exchange, or the mean of a few
exchanges, as a model for subsequent exchanges of a similar nature.
By an extension of this expedient it may become a model for exchanges
not of a similar natm'e. If given quantities of two different articles
are each found by experience to exchange for a given quantity of a
third article, ti_e proportionate value of the two first-mentioned articles
may, of course, be inferred. It is measured by the third. Hence
arise the advantages of selecting, as one of the subjects of every
exchange, a single commodity, or, more correctly, a species of com-
modities constituted of individuals of precisely similar qualities. In
the first place, all persons can ascertain, with tolerable accuracy, the
intrinsic causes which give value to the selected commodity, so that.
one half the trouble of an exchange is ready performed. And, secondly,
if an exchange is to be effected between any other two commodities,
the quantity of each that is usually exchanged for a given quantity of
the third commodity is ascertained, and their relative value is inferred.
The commodity thus selected as the general instrumemt of exchange,
whatever be its substance, whether salt, as in Abyssinia, cowries, as on
the Coast of Guinea, or the precious metals, as in Europe, ia money.
 PRICE. 97

When the use of such a commodity, or, in other words, of money, has
become established, value in money, or 2_'rice, is the only value fami-
liarly contemplated. The scarcity and durability of gold and silver
(the substances used as money by all civilized nations) make them
peculiarly unsusceptible of alteration in value from intrinsic causes.
On these accounts we think it better, in the following discussion, to
refer rather to pr/ce than to general value, and to consider the value
of money, so far as it depends on intrinsic causes, to be unvarying.
We must preface our explanation of the effect on price of the
causes limiting supply, by a remark which may appear self-evident,
but which must always be kept in recollection, namely, that where the
only natural agents emplo//ed are those which are universally accessible,
and therefore are practically un[imYed in suppty, tile utility of the
produce, or, in other words, its power, directly or indirectly, of pro-
ducing gratification, or pre_'enting pain, must be in proportion to the
sacrifices made to produce it, wdcss the producer has misal_plied hls
exertions; since no man would willingly employ a given a_wunt of
labour or abstinence in producing one commodity, if he could obtain
more gratific_ion by dcvoti_g them to the production of another.
We now revert to the causes which limit supply.
There are some commodities the results of agents no longer in
existence, or acting at remote and uncertain periods, the supply of
which cannot be increased, or cannot be reckoned upon. Antiques
and relics belong to the first class, and all the very rare productions
of Nature or Art, such as diamonds of extraordinary size, or pictures,
or statues of extraordinary beauty, to the second. The values of
such commodities are subject to no definite rules, and depend altogether
on the wealth and taste of the community. In common language,
they are said to bear a fancy price, that is, a price depending princi-
pally on the caprice or fashion of the day. The Boccaccio, which a
few years ago sold for £2000, and after a year or two's interval for
£70(), may, perhaps, fifty years hence, be purchased for a shilling.
Relics which, in the ninth century, were thought too valuable to
admit of a definite price, would now be thought equally incapable of
price in consequence of their utter worthlessness. In the following
discussion we shall altogether omit such commodities, and confine our
attention to those of which the supply is capable of increase, either
regular, or sufficiently approaching to regularity, to admit of cal-
culation.
The obstacle to the supply of those commodities which are pro-
duced by labour and abstinence with that assistance only from
nature which every one can command, consists solely in the difficulty
of finding persons ready to submit to the labour and abstinence
necessary t_) their production. In other words, their supply is
limited by the cost of their production.
• _ et"l_roduction.--The term "cost of production" must be
II
98 COSTOF PRODUCTION.

familiar to those who are acquainted with the writing-s of modem

Economists; but, like most terms in Political Economy, though
currently used, it has never been accurately defined; and it appears
to us impossible that it should have been defined without the assis-
tance of the term "abstinence," or of some equivalent expression.
Mr. Ricardo, who originally introduced the term "cost of produc-
tion," uses as an equivalent expression, "the quantity of labour which
has been bestowed on the production of a commodity." Mr. Mill (Ch.
iii. see. 2, ) appears to consider cost of production as equivalent to
" quantity of labour." Mr. Malthus more elaborately defines it as
"the advance of the quantity of accumulated and immediate labour
necessary to production, with such a per eentage upon the whole of
the advances for the time they have been employed as is equivalent to
ordinary profits." (Definitions, p. 242.)
In a note to the third edition, page 46, Mr. Ricardo admits that
profit also forms a part of the cost of production. Mr. Mill, by a
stretch of language, in the convenience of which we cannot concur,
includes profit under the term labour. The definitions of Mr. Ricardo
and Mr. Mill appear, therefore, to coincide. And that adopted by
Mr. Malthus only differs from them in referring, not to the labour that
has been employed, but to that which must be employed if the pro-
duction must be continued. In this respect the language of Mr.
Malthus is undoubtedly the most correct. The sacrifices that have
been made to produce a given commodity have no effect on its value.
All that the purchaser considers is the amount of sacrifice that its
production would require at the time of the exchange. If the expense
of producing a pair of stockings was suddenly to fall or to rise by one
half, a rise or fall in the value of the existing stockings would be the
consequence, although the labour that has been employed on them is
o,"course unalterable. Arid when Mr. Ricardo and Mr. Mill speak of
the labour which has been employed on a commodity as affecting its
valu=, they must be understood as implying that the circumstances of
production remain unchanged.
Colonel Torrens considers cost of production as equivalent to "the
amount of capital expended on production," and refuses to consider
profit as forming one of its elements. His remarks thro_v so much
light on tho whole subject, that we will venture to extract them at
some length.
"Those writers who contend for the general equality of market
and natural price, include the customary rate of profit under the term
natural price, or cost of production. But this classification is highly
unphilosophical and incorrect. The profits of stock never make any
part of the expense of production; they are, on the contrary, a new
creation brought into existence in consequence of this expense. The
farmer, we will suppose, expends one hundred quarters of corn in
cultivating his fields, and obtains in return one hundred and twenty
 COSTOF PRODUCTION. 99

quarters. In this case twenty quarters, being the excess of produce

above expenditure, constitute the farmer's profit, but it would be
absurd to call this excess or profit a part of the expenditure. The
expenditure or cost of production was one hundred quarters. It has
been now repaid with a surplus of twenty quarters; and, unless the
surplus which remains after the expenditure is replaced, be a part of
the expenditure, unless, in fact, one hundred and twenty quarters be
equal to a hundred, it is impossible that market price should be equi-
valent to natural. Supposing that corn is £3 per quarter, then, in
the case we have stated, the natural price of the farmer's produce,
or the one hundred quarters expended upon production, will be equi-
valent to £300; while the produce of one hundred and twenty quarters
obtained in return will be equivalent to .£360. The excess of market
above natural price, or cost of production, is profit; and to contend
that this profit is included in the cost of production, is the same thing
as contending that the hundred quarters, or £300 laid out in cultiva-
tion, are equal to the one hundred and twenty quarters, or £360
thereby obtained.
" In manufacturing, as well as in agricultural industry, the profit
of stock is distinct from the cost of production. The master manu-
facturer expends a certain quantity of raw material, of tools and
implements of trade, and of subsistence for labourers, and obtains in
return a given quantity of finished work. This finished work must
possess a higher exchangeable value than the materials, tools, and
subsistence, by the advance of which it was obtained; otherwise the
master could have no inducement to continue his business. Manu-
facturing industry would cease if the value produced did not exceed
the value expended. But it is the excess of value which the finished
work possesses above the value of the materials, implements, and
subsistence expended, that constitutes the master's profit; and there-
fore we cannot assert that the profit of his stock is included in the
cost of production without affirming the gross absurdity, that the
excess of value above expenditure constitutes a part of expenditure.
Supposing that the materials, tools, and subsistence cost £300, and
that the finished work is worth £360, then the difference will be the
master's profit; and we cannot maintain that the annual profit is
included in the amount of expenditure, or cost of production, without
urging the contradiction that £300 are equal to £360.
"The profit of stock, so far from forming any part of the cost of
production, is a surplus remaining after this cost has been completely
replaced. In carrying on their business, the farmer and manufacturer
do not expend their profit, they create it. It forms no part of their
first advances; on the contrary, it forms a part of their subsequent
returns. It could not have been employed in carrying on the work
of production, because, until this work was completed, it had no
existence. It is essentially a surplus, a new creation, over and above
 100 COST OF PRODUCTION.

all that is necessary to replace the cost of production, or, in other

words, the capital advanced. It is hoped that enough has been said
to convince the reader of the nature of the error into which those
Economists fall who maintain that the profit of stock is included in
. the expense of production, and that natural and market price tend to
an equality. Market price is that which we give in order to obtain a
commodity by exchange in the market: natural price is that which
we give to effect a purchase at the great storehouse of nature : it
consists of the several articles of capital employed in production, and
cannot by possibility include the surplus or profit created during the
progress of production." _
Colonel Torrens's remarks are just, so far as they apply to the mere
expressions which he is criticising. Profit is certainly not a means, but
a result. It is true that unless that result were expected, production
would not be continued. Neither the farmer nor the manufacturer
could be induced by any other motive to abstain from the unproduc-
tive enjoyment of his capital ; so food would not be produced unless
its consumption were necessary or agreeable. But the obtaining a
profit is no more a part of the cost of producing a harvest than the
gratification of appetite is a part of the cost of producing a dinner, or
protection from cold part of the cost of producing a coat.
Want of the term abstinence, or of some equivalent expression, has
led Mr. Malthus into inaccuracy of language. He seems to have felt
that something besides mere labour is essential to production. He
felt that simple industry would not convert a naked heath into a
valuable wood ; that the planter, in addition to the labour of inserting
and protecting the saplings, incurred the additional sacrifice of directing
his labour to the production of remote results ; and that the successive
generations of proprietors, in suffering the young plantation to become
mature, sacrificed their own emolument to that of their successors.
He seems to have felt that these sacrifices were part of the cost of
producing the wood, and, having no term to express them, he deno-
minated them by the name of their reward. When he termed profit
a part of the cost of production, he appears to us to have meant not
profit, but that conduct which is repaid by profit: an inaccuracy
precisely similar to that committed by those who term wages a part
of the cost of production; meaning not wages, which are the result,
but the labour for which wages are the remuneration.
Colonel Torrens's error is an error of omission. He refuses to con-
sider profit as part of tile cost of production, but he does not substitute
for it abstinence or any equivalent expression. Although he admits
that where equal capitals are employed the value of the products may
differ if the one be brought to market sooner than the other, he has
not stated the principle on which this difference depends. That prin-

Torrens, On the Product_ of Wealth,51--55

 COST OF PRODUCTION. ]01

ciple is that, though in both cases the labour employed is the same,
more abstinence is necessary in the one case than in the other.
['o_t of l_ueUo_ Defmed.--By Cbst of_Production, then, we mean
the sum of the labour and abstinence necessary to production. :But
Cost of Production, thus defined, must be divided into the cost of
production on the part of the producer or seller, and the cost of pro-
duction on the part of the consumer or purchaser. The first is of
course the amount of the labour and abstinence which must be under-
gone by him who offers for sale a given class of commodities or services
m order to enable him to continue to produce them. The second is,
the amount of the labour and abstinence which must be undergone by
those to whom a given commodity or service is offered for sale, if,
instead of purchasing, they themselves, or some of them on the behalf
of themselves and the others, were to produce it. The i_rst is equal
to the minimum, the second to the maximum, of price. :For, on the
one lmnd, no man would continue to produce, for the purpose of sale,
what should sell for less than it cost him to produce it. And, on the
edger hand, no men would continue to buy wlmt they themselves, or
some of them on the behalf of themselves'and the others, c_)uld pro-
duce at less expense. With respect to those commodities, o_. to
speak more accurately, with respect to the value of those p_'-ts or
attributes of commodities, which are the subjects of eqnal eomp_titlon,
which may be produced by all persons with equal advantages, the
cost of production to the producer and the cust of production to the
consumer are the same. Their price, therefore, represents the aggre-
gate amount of the labour and abstinence necessary to continue their
production. ]f their price should fall lower, the wages or the profits
of those employed in their production must fall below the average
remuneration of the labour and abstinence that must be undergone
if their production is to be continued. ]n time, therefore, it is dis-
continued or diminished, until the value of the product has been
raised by the diminution of the supply. If the price should rise
beyond the cost of their production, the producers must receive more
than an average remuneration for their sacrifices. As soon as this
has been discovered, capital and industry fiow towards the employ-
ment which, by this supposition, offers extraordinary advantages.
Those who formerly were purchasers, or persons on their behalf, turn
producers themselves, until the increased supply has equalized the
price with the cost of production.
Some years ago London depended for water on the New River
Company. As the quantity which they can supply is limited, the
pric_s rose with the extension of buildings, until it so far exceeded the
cost of production as to induce some of the consumers to become
prodtmera. Three new Water Companies were established, and the
price fell as the supply increased, until the shares in the New River
Company fell to nearly one-fourth of their former value; from £15,000
102 COST OF I_RODUCTIO_.

to £4000. If the metropolis should continue to increase, these trans-

actions will recur. The price of water will increase and exceed the
cost at which it could be afforded. New Companies will arise, and,
unless the additional supply is checked by greater natural obstacles
than those which the existing Companies have to surmount, the price
will again fall to its present level.
But though, under free competition, cost of production is the regu-
lator of price, its influence is subject to much occasional interruption.
Its operation can be supposed to be perfect only if we suppose that
there are no disturbing causes, that capital and labour can be at once
transferred, and without loss, from one employment to another, and
that every producer has full information of the profit to be derived
from every mode of production. But it is obvious that these supposi-
tions have no resemblance to the truth. A large portion of the capital
essential to production consists of buildings, machinery, and other
implements, the results of much time and labour, and of little service
for any except their existing purposes. A still larger portion consists
of knowledge and of intellectual and bodily dexterity, applicable only
to the processes in which those qualities were originally acquired.
Again, the advantage derived from any given business depends so
much upon the dexterity and the judgment with which it is managed,
that few capitalists can estimate, except upon an average of some
years, the amount of their own profits, and still fewer can estimate
those of their neighbours. Estabhshed businesses, therefore, may
survive the causes in which they originated, and become gradually
extinguished as their comparative unprofitableness is discovered, and
the labourers and capital engaged in them wear away without being
replaced ; and, on the other hand, other employments are inadequately
supplied with the capital and industry which they could profitably
absorb. During the interval, the products of the one sell for less, and
those of the others for more, than their cost of production. Political
Economy does not deal with particular facts but with general tenden-
cies, and when we assign to cost of production the power of regulating
price in eases of equal competition, we mean to describe it not as a
point to which price is attached, but as a centre of oscillation which it
is always endeavouring to approach.
We have seen that, under circumstances of equal competition, or,
in other words, where all persons can become producers, and that with
equal advantages, the cost of production on the part of the producer
or seller, and the cost of production on the part of the consumer or
purchaser, are the same, and that the commodity thus produced sells
for its cost of production; or, in other words, at a price equal to the
sum of the labour and abstinence which its production requires; or,
to use a more familiar expression, at a price equal to the amount of
the wages and profits which must be paid to induce the producers to
continue their exertions. It has lately been a general opinion that
 MONOPOLIES. 103

the bulk of commodities is produced under circumstances of equal

competition. " By far the greater part of those goods," says Mr.
Ricardo, ( Principles, &c. p. 3,) "which are the objects of desire, are
produced by labour, and may be multiplied almost without any assign-
able limit, if we are disposed to bestow the labour necessary to obtain
them. In speaking then of commodities, of their exchangeable value,
and of the laws which regulate their relative prices, we always mean
such commodities only as can be increased in quantity by the exertion
of human industry, and in the production of which competition operates
without restraint. '_
Now it is clear that the production in which no appropriated natural
agent has concurred, is the only production which has been made under
circumstances of perfectly equal competition. And how few are the
commodities of which the production has in no stage been assisted by
peculiar advantages of soil, or situation, or by extraordinary talent of
body or mind, or by processes generally unknown, or protected by law
from imitation? Where the assistance of these agents, to which we
have given the general name of natural agents, has been obtained, the
result is more valuable than the result of equal labour and abstinence
unassisted by similar aids. A commodity thus produced is called the
subject of a monopol_j; and the person who has appropriated such a
natural agent, a _nonopolist. z
]_Ior_ovortEs.
Monopolies may be divided into four kinds.
1. Where the _mnopolist has not the exclusive power of producing,
but only certain exclusive facilities as a prodacer_ and can increase,
vdth undiminished, or even increased facility, the amount of his 29ro-
duce.
The value of a commodity produced under such circumstances
approaches more nearly to the cost of production on the part of the
seller, than that of any other monopolised commodity. It is obvious
that its price can never permanently fall below the value of the saeri-
rices which must be paid by the producer, and, on the other band,
that it never can permanently rise above the value of the sacrifices
which must be made by the consumers, if, instead of purchasing, they,
or some persons on their behalf, were to turn producers. Sir R.
Arkwright's yarn could not sell for more than yarn of an equal
quality produced without the aid of his patent machinery; nor would
Arkwright have sold it for less than the value of the labour and
abstinence employed in its production. The first was the cost of pro-
duction to the consumer, the second the cost of production to the
producer. But the difference between the two was enormous; the
cost to Arkwright was not one-fifth of what it would have been to his
eusto_ners.
His inventions enabled him to produce a greater quantity, but not
] 04 MONOPOLIES.

a better quality. The finger and thumb constitute an instrument

more delicate than any system of rollers, and the muslin formed by
the comparatively unassisted labour of the Hindoo is finer and more
durable than the produce of our elaborate manufactories. The price
which Arkwright could exact was therefore limited, as we have seen,
by the competition of other productive instruments, more expensive
but quite as cf_cicnt. The price which he did exact was still further
limited by a regard to his own interest. He had discovered an instru-
ment of which the powers, instead of being exhausted, increased with
every increase in its application. To erect a mill for the purpose of
spinning annually a hundred or a thousand pounds of cotton would be
madness. The expense of spinning ten thousand pounds very little
exceeds the expense of spinning one thousand, and forty thousand
might probably be spun at less than double the expense of ten thousand.
As the quantity produced is increased, the relative cost of production
is diminished. If, therefore, on tbe sale of ten thousand pounds
weight of yarn at a given price, which we will call £10,000, his profit
amounted to £5000, the profit of selling one hundred thousand weight
at the same price might have amounted to £90,000, and his profit on
selling one million pounds weight to £900,000. But to effect this
was obviously impossible. As value depends mainly on limitation of
supply, he could not have at once offered a large quantity for sale
without diminishing the price, if he left that price to be fixed by the
competition of the purchasers, or without having a large portion unsold,
if he refused to submit to that diminution. His only mode of stimu-
lating a constant increase of consumption was to submit to such a
constant lowering of price as should constantly widen the circle of
those able and willing to purchase. As is usually the case, his own
interest and that of the public coincided, and led him to accept a
price far exceeding indeed the cost of production to himself, but falling
short by a still wider interval of what would have been the cost of pro-
duction to them.
Sir R. Arkwright's monopoly, therefore, was of the most limited
kind. His remuneration was bounded, and it was not his interest even
to approach that boundary.
2. A second kind of monopoly is in the opposite extreme. It exists
where price is chec "_d neither by the hopes _or by the fears of _te pro-
ducer, where no competition is dreaded, and no increased supply can be
e_ected. The owners of some vineyards have such a monopoly.
Constantia owes its peculiar flavour to the agency of a few acres of
ground, and that flavour would be destroyed if high cultivation were
employed to force from that grornd a larger quantity of wine. As no
person but the proprietor of the Constantia farm can be a producer,
the price is not checked by any cost of production to the consumer.
It is not checked by any wish of the proprietor to increase the con-
sumption, since the quantity produced, and consequently the quantity
 MONOPOLY OF LAND. 105

consumed, is incapable of increase. The price cannot of course fall

below the cost of production, but may indefinitely exceed it. It is
limited solely by the will and the ability of the consumers. And if
fashion were to make it an object of iutense desire among the opulent,
a pipe of Constantia, produced perhaps at the expense of :£20, might
sell for _20,000.
3. A third and more frequent kind of monopoly lies between these
two extremes, and is neither so strict as the last, nor so comparatively
open as the first. This comprises those cases in which the monopolist
is the only p_vducer, but, by tlle aplJlication (f additional labour and
abstinence, can indefinitely increase his produdion. The book trade
affords an illustration. While a work is protected by copyright, no
person but the proprietor of that copyright can produce copies; and
he may multiply them indefinitely by the application of additional
labour and abstinence. There is here no east of production on the
part of the purchaser, and, as far as he is concerned, the price is
limited only by his will and ability. The efficient check arises from
the interest of the publisher. As is the case with manufactures
generally, the relative expense of pubhcation diminishes as the number
of copies published increases. It is his interest, therefore, to encour-
age a large sale by attixing a price but sligbtly exceedin_ the cost of
pr(;duction, diminis'hed as that cost is by the magnitude of the produce.
A hundred copies of Waverley might, perhaps, have been sold at ten
guineas a copy; but there can be no doubt that a larger aggregate
profit was obtained by s_iIing ten thousand at a guinea and a half.
4. Th_ fourth and last ela,_'sof monopolies exists where production
must be assisted by natured agents, limdcd in number, and varying in
power, and repaying with less and less rdative asxistancc eve_'y increase
in tlue amount of the flabour and abstinozee bestowed on them. It is
under these circumstances that the greater part of the raw produce,
whatever it be, which is the staple tbod of the inhabitants in every
Country, potatoes in Ireland, wheat in England, or rico in India, is
produced. It is, in fact, TH_ GhEnT moYoroLY OF LA.'q); and as there
are scarcely any commodities of which the supply is not in some
measure limited by the limited extent of the land essential or service-
able to some process in their production, all general theories as to
value must be subject to error until the general laws regulating the
value of the assistance to be derived from land have been ascertained.
It will be necessary, therefore, to examine them at some length.
La,m.--The soil of every extenmve district is of different degrees of
fertility and convenience of situation, and the soils of each degree
constitute a distinct class of natural agents, affording each a distinct
amount of assistance to the cultivator. And we have seen that each
.portion of soil, whatever be its fertility, agricultural skill remain-
mg the same, generally gives a less and less proportionate return to
each additional quantity of labour and abstinence bestowed on its
106 MONOPOLY OF LkND.

cultivation, and may be said, therefore, to comprise within itself a

system of natural agents of different powers. The different classes of
natural agents will be successively employed, in proportion to their
efficiency; an i_,ferior class being never resorted to while a superior one
is equally accessible: and each class, until it has been completely
appropriated, may be considered as practically unlimited in supply,
since it is universally accessible. What shaU be the worst natural
agent employed, or, in other words, to what extent inferior soils shall
be cultivated, or additional labour and abstinence employed at a com-
parative disadvantage on the cultivation of those which are more fertile
or better situated, must always be determined by the wealth and wants
of the community; by the quantity of agricultural produce which they
have the power and the desire to purchase. While those wants ca,,
be satisfied by slightly cultivating only a portion of the most fertile
and best situated land, that land, though highly productive, indeed
more productive in proportion to the labour and abstinence bestowed
on it than at any subsequent stage, cannot be a separate and inde-
pendent source of value. It is then a natural agent universally
accessible, and its produce, however large, will exchange only for the
value of the labour and abstinence employed on its production. In
short, the cost of production to the producer, and the cost of produc-
tion to the consumer, are, under such circumstances, the same. This
is the state of some of the fertile and thinly-peopled districts of the
tropics. The inhabitants of the greater part of the Tierra Caliente, of
5Iexico, appropriate at will from the fertile wilderness over which they
are scattered the small patches which afford them the materials of
lodging, food, and raiment. We are told that in these districts the
labour of a week will provide subsistence for a year, but even this
vast productive power, or even any conceivable increase in it, is incap-
able of giving value to the assistance afforded as long as the supply of
that assistance remains unlimited.
It becomes limited, however, in the very earliest stages of improve-
ment. Both the causes and the consequences of this event may be
illustrated by tracing the progress of a Colony.
When a body of emigrants arrives on the coast of an unoccupied
district, their first operation must be to fix the situation of their
future metropolis; the seat of government, of law, of foreign trade,
and of those manufactures which require the congregation of numer-
ous workmen. We may suppose their numbers and the local advan-
tages to be such as to enable them to occupy, within such a distance
from their infant town as to render the expense of carriage immaterial,
as much land of the highest fertility as each agricultural family may
wish to cultivate. The agricultural produce thus obtained must s_ll
for its cost of production to the producer; every consumer being able
at will to turn a producer, with advantages equal to those enjoyed
by the existing producers, and being unwilling to give for the result
 MONOPOLY OF LAND. I07

of a given amount of labour and abstinence on their part more than

the result of an equal amount of labour and abstinence on his own
part. Such a commodity rapidly increases in numbers and in wealth,
and that increase is accompanied by an increased desire and ability
to purchase agricultural produce. Until the supply of raw produce
has been increased, the price must now rise above the cost of produc-
tion. But when the most fertile lands within a given distance of the
town have been occupied, there remain only three modes of increasing
the supply; either, 1. by cultivating the fertile lands at a greater
distance from the town; or, 2. by cultivating the inferior land in its
neighbourhood; or, 3. by employing additional labour and abstinence
in the cultivation of the lands already occupied. Whichever of these
plans be adopted, and probably they will all be adopted, the addi-
tional quantity must be supplied at an increased expense. The first
is loaded with the expenses of carriage; and we know that a given
amount of labour and abstinence is employed to comparative disad-
vantage, when applied either to the cutivation of inferior land, or to
the further improvement of the best land.
The immediate consequence of the increase of supply must be a
fall of price, but a fall not equal to the previous rise. The additional
supply is produced under circumstances of equal competition, every
consumer having it in his power to turn producer by occupying the
more distant or less fertile territory; it sells, therefore, for the cost
of production to the producer. But commodities of precisely the
same qualities cannot sell in the same market for different prices.
The purchaser of a bushel of wheat does not inquire whether it was
grown within a furlong or at ten miles from the place of sale. The
produce, therefore, of the fertile lands in the immediate vicinity of the
market, sells at the same price as that of the distant or inferior land.
That price, as it is equal to the cost of production of what is pro-
duced at the greatest expense, must exceed the cost of production of
what is produced at the least expense. The proprietor of the most
fertile and best situated land has no motive to take less, as he cannot,
like the owner of a patent, increase the amount of what he produces
and continue to produce at equal advantage; and the purchaser
cannot support an offer of less, as he cannot turn producer but by
submitting to disadvantages which equalize the current price and the
cost of production.
As the Colony grows into a People and an Empire, the same pro-
eesses are repeated. Every increase of wealth and population raises
the price of raw produce. Increase of price occasions an increase of
.supply, raised at a comparatively greater expense. The price falls
m consequence of the increased supply, but is prevented from falling
to its former level by the increase which has taken place in the cost
of producing that part of the whole supply which is brought to
market at the greatest expense.
108 MONOPOLY OF LAND.

The effect will be the same whether we select for the scene a con-
tinent or an island; a district containing soils of every degree of
fertility, or of precisely uniform quality. The Anglo-Americans have
supplied their constantly increasing wants chiefly by spreading them-
selves backwards over their unbounded Western territory, and have
made little use of inferior soils, or of high cultivation, except in the
immediate vicinity of their cities. In Malts, a single acre receives
more labour than would be devoted to a square mile in the Illinois ;
but precisely the same motives impel the Maltese to terrace his moun-
tains into gardens, and the American to reclaim the prairies of the
3iissouri.
It may be inferred, from the picture which we have given of the
progress of society, that we believe an increased difficulty of obtaining
raw produce to be the natural incident to an increase of population.
In the absence of counteracting causes it certainly would be so; but
those causes are so powerful, that, unless checked by legislation,
they in many respects balance the causes which we have been con-
sidering. In a colony, the counteracting causes appear likely to
preponderate for a period, the duration of which must of course
depend in part on the quantity of fertile and unoccupied land in its
vicinity. As the circle of appropriated land expands, and the expense
of bringing food to the consumers becomes more oppressive, there is
a tendency in the consumers to follow the food. The colonial capital,
now turned into a metropolis, may continue to send out portion after
portion of her increased inhabitants, until the whole territory acquires
something approaching to an average amount of cultivation. Again,
in every Country increased wealth and numbers are accompanied by
increased agricultural skill and improved means of transport. The
use of implements, the division of labour, and physical knowledge are
po_erful aids to the agriculturist, though they do not afford to him
the almost msgical increase of power which they give to the manu-
facturer. The improvements in carriage arc still more important: a
given amount of labour applied for twenty years to a given piece of
land, would probably now produce a return four or five times as great
as would have been obtained at the Conquest. But the labour
necessary to transport that produce one hundred miles is probably
now not one one-hundredth of what it was then. No improvements in
husbandry instruments, or in breeding, or in the rotation of crops,
have been so efficient as the substitution of the waggon, the Mac-
adamized road, the canal, the navigable river, and the railway, for
the pack-horse of our ancestors and the dangerous tracks through
which they beat out and picked their way. The intervention of a
hill or a morass was then an obstacle sufficient to allow the price of
corn on one side to be double that on the other ; and London was so
dependent on the immediately adjacent Counties, that the landlords
of those Counties petitioned against the opening of roads, as inter-
 MONOPOLY OF LAND. 109

fering with their vested right to a monopoly of the metropolitan supply;

tr petition which failed because the immediate interests of other land-
lords opposed it.
But the principal means by which a Country, when increasing in
wealth and population, may avoid the necessity of raising its raw
produce at a constantly increasing disadvantage, is by importation.
We have seen that additional labour employed in manufactures
produces an increasing proportionate effect; that if one thousand
men can in a given time work up one million of pounds of cotton,
two thousand men would be able to work up in the same time more
than two milllons of pounds, and four thousand men, much more
than twice as much as two thousand. As a nation increases in
opulence and populatiou, it becomes the interest, therefore, of the
community to devote their additional population rather to manu-
factures, in which they have a constantly increasing advantage, than
to agriculture, at a constantly increasing disadvantage. As their
industry becomes more and more efficient, they are in general able to
purchase with the produce of a given amount of labour and abstinence
a larger and larger amount of the produce of the industry of their less
advanced contemporaries. The produce of the labour of a single
Englishman employed for a given time in fabricating cotton, will pur-
chase the cotton grown by the labour of five, or perhaps ten Hindoos,
or the wheat grown by three, or perhaps five, Lithuanians or Poles.
It must be recollected, indeed, that a nation, while extending its
manufactures, must increase its importation of raw produce ; and we
have already stated that the increased labour at which the additional
produce must be obtained would retard the progress of such a com-
munity. But though this is unquestionable, though it is even certain
that, if sufficient time be allowed, this obstacle is able not merely to
retard, but almost to arrest, the advance of manufactures, there
seems to be little to fear from it withiu any of those periods within
which calculations for practical purposes are generally confined. In
the first place, the stimulus of an advantageous trade must tend tu
increase the agricultural skill of the exporting nations, and increase
the facilities of transport; causes which, e.,peeially in the earlier
stages of a nation's improvement, often enable it, and for considerable
periods, to bring to market an increased quantity of raw produce
with the same or even less proportionate labour. And, secondly,
even if we suppose the manufacturing nation to be supplied by its
agricultural customers at an increased proportionate expense to them,
it does not follow that the proportionate expense to her need be
increased. The increased difficulty on the one side may be balanced
by the increased facility on the other. We will suppose that at
present one hundred thousand yards of" muslin, fabricated by twelve
Englishmen, can be exchanged for one hundred and fifty quarters of
wheat, raised by thirty-six Poles ; that an increase in population of
]I0 MOh_OPOLY OF LA_XTD.

one-third makes it necessary to import two hundred instead of one

hundred and fifty quarters, and that the two hundred quarters are
raised, not by forty-eight, the former proportion, but by sixty Poles.
If the increase in our skill has kept pace with our increase of num-
bers, it is probable that eighteen Englishmen would be able to fabri-
cate at least two hundred thousand yards of muslin, instead of one
hundred and fifty thousand, the former proportion. The exchange
under such circumstances, instead of being less, would be more
beneficial than before. England would purchase more corn, and
Poland more muslin, at a less proportionate amount of labour.
It must be carefully remembered that the preceding remarks
apply not to the higher or lower 2rice of raw produce, but to the
greater or less difficulty in obtaining it; things which have no
necessary connection; one of them depending on the causes which
affect the general value of raw produce, the other on the causes
which affect the general value of money. At the same time, and in
the same place, the prices of articles exactly measure the difficulty of
obtaining them. It is exactly half as dii_cult to get a commodity
that costs one sovereign as to get a commodity that costs two. But
this is only true at the same time and in the same place. Though
in England a quarter of corn now costs about fifty shillings, and in
the reign of Henry VIII. cost about twenty, it is probable that it was
then more difficult to obtain one than it is now. This must have
been the case if it was then more difficult to obtain twenty shillings
than it is now to obtain fifty. It is equally clear that, although a
quarter of wbeat now costs in England about ten ounces of silver, and
about six ounces in Poland, yet, if it is easier in England to obtain
ten ounces of silver than in Poland to obtain six ounces, it is easier
in England to obtain a quarter of wheat than it is in Poland. Ex-
perience shows that wealth and population almost always increase
together, though not in equal ratios, the increase of wealth being, as
we have already stated, generally greater than the increase of polmla-
tion. The increased capital and labour of an increasing population
are naturally directed to manufactures, in which, as we have already
seen, every increased production is more easily effected. As their
labour becomes more productive, the value of the products of a given
quantity of that labour rises in the general market of the world ; or,
in other words, they obtain in return for it a greater amount of the
precious metals; or, in other words, a higher price. Therefore,
although they may have to pay a higher price for a given quantity of
raw produce, whether of home growth or imported, it does not follow
that the difficulty of obtaining that given quantity has increased ; it
is possible, and not improbable, that it may have diminished. A
nation so situated may be compared to an individual whose income
happens to be rising at the same time when the price of corn is
rising. If the rise el' his income more than cotmterbalanees the rise
 EFFECTS OF COST OF PRODUCTION ON PRICE. ]lI

of corn, he finds it every year more easy to purchase a given quantity,

though he may have to give a higher and higher price for it.
E_reets of the C_ of Pm_lucUon on Price.--We have seen that
production may take place under five different circumstances.
1. Absence of monopoly ; all persons being capable of producing
with equal advantage.
2. A monopoly under which the monopolist has not the exclusive
power of producing, but exclusive facilities as a producer, which may
be employed indefinitely with equal or increasing advantage.
3. A monopoly under which the monopolist is the only producer,
and cannot increase the amount of his produce.
4. A monopoly under which the monopolist is the only producer,
and can increase indefinitely, with equal or increasing advantage, the
amount of his produce.
5. A monopoly ureter which the monopolist is not the only producer,
but has peculiar facilities which diminish and ultimately disappear as
he increases the amount of his produce.
The price of those commodities which are comprehended in the
first class appears to be subject to laws capable of accurate investiga-
tion. Where labour alone has been employed, the price must be
equal to the wages of that labour. Where that labour has been
assisted by abstinence, or, in other words, where a period has elapsed
between the employment of the labour and the sale of its produce,
the price must be equal to the amount of the wages of that labour
and the remuneration to be paid either to the labourer for having
suffered the payment of his wages to be deferred, or to the capitalist
who has paid those wages in advance.
There are, however, very few commodities of which the whole price
can be resolved into the remuneration for the tabollr, or the abstinence,
or both, which must be bestowed on their production.
Mere abstinence can produce nothing. Lubour, or the agency of
nature, must afford the st_bject with respect to which it is to be exer-
cised. It is possible, indeed, that a natural agent universally acces-
sible may sometimes afford a product of no value at first, but capable
of becoming valuable by mere keeping ; but no instance of the kind
occurs to us, and some little trouble is generally requisite for the mere
safe custody of any article.
Mere labour does produce a very few articles. The laver collected
and sold on the coas: of Devonshire is an example. It grows natu-
rally on the unappropriated rocks wit_hinthe influence of the tide, and
in abundance practically unlimited. No instruments are necessary to
gather or prepare it, and, as it will not keep, it is sold as soon as it
has been collected and washed. The price of a gi,en q_.mnti_y con-
sists, therefore, merely of the wages of those who gather, wash, and
bring it to market.
A class of commodities, perhaps rather larger, but still incensider-
 112 EFFECTS OF COST OF PRODUCTION ON PRICE.

able when compared with the general mass, is produced by labour and
abstinence, assisted only by those natural agents which are universally
accessible. It is difficult, however, to point out an article, however
simple, that can be exposed to sale without the concurrence, direct or
indirect, of many hundred, or, more frequently, "of many thousand
different producers ; almost every one of whom will be found to have
been aided by some monopolized agent.
There arc few things of which the price seems to consist more
exclusively of wages and profits than a watch ;2_but if we trace it
from the mine to the pocket of the purchaser, we shall be struck by
the payment of rent (the invariable sign of the agency of some instru-
ment not universally accessible) at every stage of its progress. Rent
was paid for the privilege of extracting from the mines the metals of
which it is composed ; for the land which afforded the materials of the
ships in which those metals were transported to an English port ; for
the wharfs at which they were landed, and the warehouses where they
were exposed to sale; the watchmaker pays a rent for the land
covered by his manufactories, and the retailer for that on which his
shop is situated. The miner, the shipwrlght, the house-builder, and
the watchmaker, all use implements formed of materials produced by
the same processes as the materials of the watch, and subject also in
their different stages to similar payments of rent. The whole amount
of all these different payments forms probably a very small portion
of the value of the watch ; but if we were to attempt to enumerate
them, they would be found subdivided into ramifications too minute for
calculation. What remains consists of the wages of the workmen,
and the profits of the capitalists who paid those wages in advance.
The attempt to trace hack these wages and profits to their earliest
beginnings, would be as vain as the attempt to enumerate all the pay-
ments of rent. In estimating, therefore, the value of a manufactured
commodity, we scldom go farther back than to the price paid by the
manufacturer for his materials and implements, a price which must
have included all previous payments of rent, wages, and profits.
We will now trace the causes which increase the value of those
materials after they have been the property of the manufacturer. We
will suppose a watchmaker's capital to consist of materials worth £500,
that he has bought the land covered by his buildings for _500, and
has expended £900 in erecting them, that his tools have cost him
:£100, and that an annual expense of £100 is necessary to keep his
buildings and tools in repair. We will suppose him to employ ten
workmen, each receiving at an average £100 a-year, and that one
year is the average period from the commencement to the sale of a
watch. We will suppose that his ten workmen can annually convert
his £500 worth of materials into five hundred watches, and that the
_1It has been used by M. Canard,M. Flores Estrada, and Mr. M'Cutloch,as an
example ofthevalue derivedfromlabour alone.
 EFFECTS OF COST OF PRODUCTIONON PRICE. 113

average rate of profit in his business amounts to ten per centum per
annum. To give him this profit it is clear that his watches must sell
for
Value of materials ........................................... £500
Wages for a year ............................... 1000
Repairs for a year,. .......................................... 100

1600
Profit on the advance of these sums, and on the')
value of the land, and buildings, and tools, for_ 155
half-a-year, at 10 per cent. pe_"annum .......... .)
£1755

It will be observed that, although a year is supposed to elapse

between the commencement and the sale of a watch, we suppose the
cost of its production to have been advanced for only half-a-year. The
fact is that some part of the advances must have been made for more,
and some for less than half-a-year. Supposing a workman to have
been employed on the watch ifor a year, and paid daily, he received
his first day's wages one year hefore the watch was sold, but his last
day's wages on the very day of the _.ale; six mouths, therefore, is the
average period for which [he whole were advanced before the sale;
just as large a proportion having been advanced for a shorter as for a
longer period.
It will be observed, too, that we suppose the whole value of the
materials, repairs, and wages to be repaid, hut only a profit on the
value of the land, buildings, and tools. The first are ahnua!ly expended
by the capitalist, the second remain to be used as in_-:ruraents of
further production. The land is indestructible, and the damage done
to the buildings and tools is pad for by the £100 supposed to be
expended in repairs.
But the whole cost of produet;.on has not yet been enumerated.
In the first place, s,nne wages must be allowed to the master watch-
maker himself for his labour in superintendiI_g his business; and,
secondly, some profit on the expense of his education. AM as his
knowledge and habits, which form his mental capi'.at, will not surrive
him, somethir, g more than the average rate of profit is nccessa_ _ to
replace their value.
If we suppose the expense of his education t,, have amoun_e(1 to
£1000, and that it will he replaced with average pr_fit by an an_._l
return of £15 per cent., and the average wage_ of lab_L_r to he £30
a-year, we have £180 to add to the price of the watchc% and £9
more for the advance of this sum for balLs-year, makb_g £1.044.
The last source of expense is taxation, or, in oti'.cr words, the
wages and profits of those who have protected all the different pro-
ducers of the watches from foreign and domestic ¥iolence and fraud.
I
114 EFFECTS OF MONOPOLIES ON PRICE.

A considerable portion of the price paid by the watchmaker for his

materials, tools, and buildings, probably consisted of the taxation to
which those commodities had been previously subjected; but the
taxation which we are now considering is that which he incurs during
the year supposed to be employed in manufacturing the watch.
This is an expense little capable of previous estimation; partly
because the expenses of government are subject to constant variation,
and partly because no general prineiple regulates the proportions
in which those expenses are divided among the contributors. In
:England they are in general imposed upon the persons using or pro-
ducing certain commodities; upon the use, for instance, of a carriage
or window, and upon the production of candles or glass. We will
suppose the annual taxation imposed on the shop and other instru-
ments of production used by the watchmaker to amount to £53 7s.,
the profit on the advance of this sum for half-a-year would exceed by
a slight fraction E2 13s., together £56, making with the £]944, the
amount of our previous calculation, the sum of £2000, the whole cost
of production of the five hundred watches, or £4 a-piece.
The different sums in this example have of course been taken at
random; but we have thought it worth while to go through it partly
as an instance of the calculations on which every manufacturer must
found his estimate of the profit or loss likely to follow any given
undertaking; and partly to show in how many shapes, labour, absti-
nence, and the agency of nature, or, in other words, rent, profits, and
wages, are constantly re-appearing in every productive process.
When we speak, therefore, of a class of commodities as produced
under circumstances of equal competition, or as the result of labour and
abstinence unassisted by any other appropriated agent, and consider
their price as equal to the sum of the wages and profits that must be
paid for their production, we do not mean to state that any such com-
modities exist, but that, if they did exist, such would be the laws by
which their price would be regulated; and that so far as labour or
abstinence, or both, are conducive to the production of any given
commodity, it is to be considered as produced under circumstances of
equal competition, and as worth the wages or profits, or both, with
which that labour or abstinence, or both, must be remunerated.
Effects of ._onopoliv_ on Price.--The prices of the commodities
comprised in the second, third, and fourth classes, are but little
governed by any general rules. The prices of those comprised in the
second class, cannot rise above the cost of production when unassisted
by the monopolized agent, but have a tendency to approach the cost
of production to the monopolist. The prices of those comprised in the
third and fourth classes have no necessary limits, but approach much
more nearly to the cost of production in the fourth class, where the
monopolist can increase his produce, than i_ the third class, where
nature strictly limits the amount that can be produced.
 RENT. ]15

Rem.--The price of the commodities comprised in the fifth and last

class, those which are produced under what may be called unequal
competition or qualified monopoly, where all persons may become
producers, but ever), additional quantity is obtained at a greater pro-
portionate expense, has a constant tendency to coincide with the cost
of production of that portion which is continued to be produced at the
greatest expense. The annual supply of London requires about one
million five hundred thousand quarters of wheat. Of this quantity,
perhaps fifty thousand can be obtained only by means of high cultiva-
tion, or very distant carriage, at an expense of about 50s. a quarter.
While the wants and the wealth of the inhabitants of London are
such as to make them require, and enable them to purchase, one
million five hundred thousand quarters, and the expenses of carriage
and cultivation remain unaltered, it is clear that the whole quantity,
supposing it to be of uniform quality, must sell at the rate of 50s. a
quarter. If it were to sell for less, the last fifty thousand quarters
would cease to be produced, and the price would again rise in conse-
quence of the deficiency of the supply. But of the whole one million
five hundred thousand quarters, a portion, perhaps fifty thousand,
might be produced by slightly cultivating the most fertile and best
situated land, at the expense of ]0s. a quarter. A hundred thousand
may cost the producer 20s. a quarter, two hundred thousand 25s.,
two hundred thousand more 30s. a quarter_ and the cost &production
of all, except the last fifty thSusand, must have been less than the
50s. for which they are sold. The difference between the price and
the cost of production is .Rent. It is an advantage derived from the
use of a natural agent not universally accessible. It is taken, there-
fore, by the owner of the agent by whose assistance it was obtained.
A portion of the whole supply, however, that portion which is pro-
duced at the greatest expense, is produced without any payment of
rent. :If the cost of producing and sending to market from a given
farm be in the following proportions: for one hundred quarters £100,
for ninety more :£1o0, for eighty more _100, for seventy more ,_100,
for sixty more £I00, for fifty more £100, for forty more _£100, and
for thirty-three and one-third of a quarter more £100, and the price
per quarter is 60s., it is clear that the landlord's rent will be in the
ibllowing proportions :-
On the first ,£100 expended ...... :£200
On the second ]00 ......... 170
On the third 100 ......... ]40
On the fourth ]00 ......... ]10
On the fifth ]00 ......... SO
On the sixth ]00 ......... 50
On the seventh 100 ......... 20

Iu all, ....... £770

116 _ENT.

And it is equally clear that no rent can be paid by the farmer for
the privilege of producing the last thirty-three one-third quarters, as
the whole £100 for which it sells is absorbed by the cost of produc-
tion. The last thirty-three one-third quarters will continue to be
produced as long as the wants and the wealth of the purchasers render
them willing and able to purchase a quantity of corn, the whole of
which cannot be supplied unless this last and most expensive portion
is produced. If those wants and wealth should increase, it might
become necessary to raise an additional supply at a still further addi-
tional expense, at the cost, we will say, of £100 for only twenty
quarters. But it is clear that this could not be done unless the price
should be £5 a quarter, since that is the lowest price at which the
cost of producing the last supply would be repaid. The price, indeed,
would probably have previously risen to above £5 a quarter, since an
interval must have elapsed between the increased demand occasioned
by the increased wants and wealth of the purchasers and the increase
of the supply. During that interval the price must hax'e risen some-
what above the price at which it would settle when the additional
supply had been obtained. The appearance of that additional supply
would sink it to £5 a quarter, the cast at which that supply is pro-
duced, but it could not permanently fall bel,)w that price unless a
diminution should take place either iu the wants or wealth of the
purchasers, or in the expenses of cultivation or conveyance.
All this appears almost too plain for formal statement. It is,
however, one of the most recent discoveries in Political Science : so
recent that it can scarcely be said to be universally admitted even in
this Country, and abroad it does not seem to be even comprehended.
If any writer could be expected to be fully master of i_, it would be
Say, file most distinguished of tlle Continental Economists, and the
annotator oa Rieardo. In his notes to the French translation of the
Principles of Politica! ]JcoJ_o_n.,ia_cl Taxation, lie constantly objects
to Mr. Ricardo's 1Leasonlngs, the fact that all cultivated land pays
rent; as if such a fact were inconsistent with the existence of corn
raised without the payment of rent. He repeats this objection in a
note to a passage in which IIicardo has demonstrated its falsity. In
the twenty-fourth chapter of the 2Prb_ciples, Mr. Ricardo examines
Adam Smith's opinions on rent.
"Adam Smith," observes _[r. t_icardo, "had adopted the notion
that there were some parts of the produce of land for which the
demand must always be such as to afford a greater price than what
is sufficient to bring them to market; and he considered food as one
of those parts.
" lie says that 'land in almost every situation produces a greater
quantity of food than what is sufficient to mqintain all the labour
necessary fbr bringing it to market, in the most liberal way in which
•about is ever maiI_tained. The surplus, too, is always more than
 rest. 117

sumcient to replace the stock which employed that labour, together

with its profits. Something, therefore, always remains for a rent to
the landlord.'
" But what proof does he give of this ? No other than the asser-
tion that ' the most desert moors in Norway and Scotland produce
some sort of pasture for cattle, of which the milk and the increase
are always more than sufficient not only to maintain all the labour
necessary for tending them, and to pay the ordinary profit to the
farmer or owner of the herd or flock, but to afford some small rent
to the landlord.' Now of this I may be permitted to entertain a
doubt. I believe that as vet in every Country, from the rudest to
the most refined, there is land of such a quality that it cannot yield
a produce more than sufficiently valuable to replace the stock employed
on it, together with the profits ordinary and usual in that Country.
In America we all know that this is the case. and yet no one mai[_-
tains that the principles which regulate rent are different in that
Country and in Europe. But if it were true that England had so
far advanced in cultivation, that at this time there were no lands
remaining which did not afford a rent, it would be equally true, that
there formerly must have been _uch lands ; and that u't_ether there be
or not, ia of,no importance to this question, for it is the same thing if
there be any ca)fital emplvyed in (4rent .Brihdn on land which yields
or, lll the return of stock with ffs ordbmry profits, whether it be employed
on new or old land. - If a farmer agrees for land on a lease for seven
or fourteen years, he may propose to employ on it a capital of
• 10,000, knowing that at the existing price of grain and raw produce
he can replace that part of his stock which he is obliged to expend,
pay his rent, and obtain the general rate of profit. He will not
employ £11,000 unless the last £1000 can be employed so produc..
tively as to afford him the usual profits of stock. In his calculation
whether he shall employ it or not, he considers only whether the price
of raw produce is sufficient to replace his expenses and profits, for he
knows that he shall have no additional rent to pay. Even at the
expiration of his lease his rent will not be raised ; for if his landlord
should require rent, because this additionsl £1000 was employed, he
would withdraw it, since by employing it he gets by the supposition,
only the ordinary and usual profits which he may obtain by any other
employment of stock." Princi2_les, d'c., 3S9--39l.
To this passage, ]_L Say affixes the following note : " This is pre-
cisely what Adam Smith does not admit, since he says that the worst
land in Scotland gives to its proprietor a rent." We answer to M.
Say : " This is precisely what Mr. Ricardo declares to be immaterial,
since a portion of what is produced on a farm giving a rent of ten
guineas an acre, may be produced without any rent being paid for
the privilege of producing it."
It must be admitted, however, that the doctrine in question has
118 RENT.

often been stated in a form likely to confuse the dull or inattentive,

and liable to the cavils of the uncandid. Mr. Ricardo, who, though
not its discoverer, is its best known expositor, was led, both by his
merits and his deficiencies, into frequent inaccuracy of language.
He was not enough master of logic to obtain precision, or even to
estimate its importance. Itis sagacity prevented his making sufficient
allowance for the stupidity or carelessness of his readers ; and he was
too earnest a lover of truth to anticipate wilful misconstruction.
Under the influence of these causes he is, perhaps, the most incor-
rect writer who ever attained philosophical eminence ; and there are
few subjects on which he has been guilty of more faults of expression
than on rent.
He perceived that an increased will and power on the part of the
community to purchase raw produce, and the impossibility of increas-
ing the supply but at an increased expense, must necessarily raise
rents, and must also occasion an extension of cnltivation. Associating,
therefore, in his own mind the ideas of the rise of rents and of the
extension of cultivation, he has often spoken of them as if they stood
in the relation of cause and effect : as if the extension of cultivation
were a cause of the rise of rent, instead of being, as it obviously is, a
mean_ by which that rise is counteracted. The inaccuracy is so
obviou_ that we can scarcely suppose it to have misled any reader of
tolerable care and acuteness.
He has also too frequently used the expression "the corn raised
on land paying no rent," as an equivalent for "the corn raised
without the payment of rent." And when his opponents reply, as is
true, that "in old Countries all land pays a rent," he has sometimes
denied the truth of the reply, instead of showing, as he has done in
the passage which we have quoted, that the doctrine i_ just as true
when applied to a small district in which all the land is highly rented,
as when applied to a colony where rent is the exception and freedom
from it the rule.
Again, he has often spoken of the existence of rent as dependent
on the cultivation of land of different degrees of fertility, or on the
fact that the same land repays, with a proportionably smaller return,
the application of additional capital. And yet it is clear that if we
supposa the existence of a populous and opulent district of great but
uniform fertility, giving a large return to a given expenditure of
capital, but incapable of giving any return whatever on a less
expenditure, or any greater return on a larger expenditure, such a
district would afford a high rent though every rood of land and every
portion of the capital applied to it would be ectually productive.
 EFFECTS OF INCREASEDDE._IAlqDON PRICE. 119

Con_equenceN of the Proposition that Additional Labour, when em-

ployed in ]lanufneture* is .TIORE, and when employed in Agriculture
t*_LE._)8, eaeient in proportion.--_Ve now proceed to consider some
remarkable consequences of the proposition [ see page 81, ] that addi-
tional labour when employed in Manufactures is _nore, and when
employed in Agriculture less, efficient in proportion; or, in other words,
that the efficiency of labour increases in Manufactures in an increasing
ratio, and in Agriculture in a decreasing ratio. And, consequently,
that every additional quantity of manufactured produce is obtained,
so far as the manufacturing of it is alone concerned, at a less propor-
tionate cost, and every additional quantity of ag1'icultural produce is
obtained, generally speaking, at a greater proportionate cost.

I. Different effects of Incrra_ed Demand on :?lanufactured and Raw

Produce.--So far as the price of any commodity is affected by the

value of the raw material of which it is formed, it has a tendency to
rise ; so far as the price consists of the remuneration to be paid for
the labour and abstinence of ttmse employed in manufacturing it, it
has a tendency to fall, with the increase of population.
It is obvious that commodities of rude or simple workmanship are
subject to the first rule, and the finer manufactures to the second.
:Bread may afford an instance of the first kind, and lace of the second.
The average price in England of a half-peek loaf is now about ]s. 3d.
Of this sum 10d., at least, may be assumed to be the price of the
wheat; the wages and profit of the miller, baker, and retailer
absorbing the remainder. If circumstances should arise, requiring
the present supply of bread to be immediately doubled from our home-
produce, it is obvious that the increased supply of wheat could not
be obtained by merely doubling the amount of labour now employed
in its production. It is impossible to say to what amount the increased
difficulty of production would raise the price of wheat; we will,
however, suppose it to be doubled, and the price of the wheat necessary
to make a half-peek loaf to be ]s. 8d. instead of ]0d.: at the same
time the increased labour employed iu its manufacture and sale would
become more efficient. The miller and the baker would employ
better instruments and a greater division of labour, and the retailer
would be able to double his sales at little additional expense. The
price of bread, so far only as its manufacture and re_a_l is concerned,
03
would be reduced perhaps one-fourth, or from 5d. to o_d. In which
ease, the whole result of the increased production would be that the
half-peek loaf would sell for ls. ll,d. instead of ls. 3d.
We will now see what would be the effect of an increased use of lace.
At the present price of lace and cotton, a pound of cotton worth,
in the Liverpool market, 2s., may bo converted into a piece of lace
worth 100 guineas. Suppose the consumption of lace to double, and
the increased difficulty of producing the additional quautity of the
 ]20 EFFECT OF TAXATION ON MANUFACTUREDPRODUCE.

cotton fit for lace-making to raise its price from 2s. to 4s. a pound ;
the price of the lace, supposing it still to be manufactured at the
same expense, would be raised one thousand-and-fiftieth part, or from
£105 to £105 2s. But it is impossible to doubt that the stimulus
thus applied to the production of lace would improve every process of
the manufacture. We should probably much underrate the amount
of that improvement if we were to estimate the consequent saving of
expense at one-fourth ; in which case the whole result of the increased
production would be that the lace would sell for £78 17s. instead of
.£105; the same circumstances which would nearly double the price of
bread would reduce by one-fourth the price of lace.

]I. Dill_rcnt effecl_ of Taxation on lhe Price_ of -_llanufacturcd and

Raw Prodnec.--Anothcr inference from the proposition in question is

the difference between the effects of taxation when imposed on raw
produce and when imposed on manufactured produce.
Taxes on manufactured commodities ultimately raise the price, and
that by an amount exceeding the amount of the tax. Taxes on
agricultural produce in its unmanufactured state do not necessarily
occasion any ultimate rise of price, and raise it, if at all, by an amount
less than that of the tax.
_EFFECT OF TAXATION ON MANUFACTURED PRoD_c_.--Thefirst pro-
position may be easily illustrated.
We willsupposea tax on watchesoftwenty-five percent.on their
valueto have existedfrom the commencement of thattrade. As
thereisno reasontosupposethattile profitsor thewages of master
watchmakers or theirworkmen are,under presentcircumstances,
above the averagewages and profits of personssimilarly employed,
itisclearthat,ifsuch a tax had alwaysexisted, the priceforthe
timebeingofwatchesmust alwayshavebeenone-fourth higherthan
ithas been,or thetradeofwatchmakingwould have been followed
neitherby labourers nor capitalists. It isclearalsothatsuch an
increaseof pricemust alwayshave diminishedor retardedin its
increase thesale, and,consequently, theproduction ofwatches. But
if fewer watches had been made, the smaller number would have
been made at a greater proportionate expense. And the price of
watches must have been higher than it actually has been, first by the
amount of the tax, and, secondly, by the greater expensiveness of the
more limited manufacture. It is equally clear that, after the removal
of such a tax, the price of watches wouht sink, first by the amount of
the tax removed, and, secondly, by the improvement in the manufacture
consequent on an increased production... It is equally clear that,
if such a tax were now for the first time to be imposed, the price of
watches must rise, first by the amount of the tax, and, secondly, by the
amount of the increased proportionate expense of making and selling
the diminished quantity sold, or watchmaking would cease to be as
 EFFECT OF TAXATIONON AGRICULTURALPRODUCE. 121

profitable as the average of trades. It is clear, too, that the more

the use of watches diminished, the higher the price must eventually
rise. If only ten new watches were made every year, they would
probably cost £500 a-piece. If only one were made, it would pro-
bably cost little less than the whole price of the ten. It is true that
these effects would not immediately follow either the imposition or
the removal of the tax ; an interval must in either case elapse, during
which, the existing capital in the watchmaking trade continuing the
same, the supply of watches would be neither increased nor dimin-
ished, and, consequently, the price but little affected. During this
interval, both the wages and the profits of those engaged in that
business would be unnaturally high, or unnaturally low, and they
would not acquire their natural level until, in the case of the removal
of the tax, a sui_iclent number of persons were educated to the
business, or, in the case of the imposition of the tax, the number of
persons educated to the business had been sufficiently diminished, to
enable the supply of watches to be proportioned to the demand, at a
price giving average profits and wages to the capitalists and labourers
employed in their manufacturv and sale.
:EFFECT OF TAX.¢TION ON AGRICULTURAL _RODUCE.--But if a_ricu]-.
tural produce were subjected to such a tax, relief would be afforded
by precisely the same conduct which in manufactures aggravates the
pressure, namely, by a diminution of production.
It may be assumed that capital is fairly distributed among the
various channels for its employment, and that, in the absence of
peculiar disturbing causes, agriculture, the most agreeable of all
occupations, has not less than an average share of it. It may there-
fore be assumed, generally speaking, that capital is employed on
land until its produce repays, but does not more than repay, the
expense of cultivation; or, in other _ords, that the occupier of land
pushes its cultivation until the additional produce obtained by means
of the last labourers employed is just sufficient, at the existing price,
to pay their wages, and average profits to himself, for the time
during which those wages must be paid in advance. On the imposi-
tion of a tax, either the price of what he produces must rise by the
amount of the tax, or the farmer must discontinue the production of ..
that portion of his crop which is raised at the greatest expense.
We will suppose a farmer to occupy a farm containing six hundred
acres of arable land of different degrees of fertility; one hundred
acres of which, with the labour of ten men directly and indirectly
employed on them, would give a return which, in order to reduce it
to one denomination, we will call six quarters of wheat an acre ; one
hundred others capable of giving with an equal number of men only
five quarters per acre ; one hundred others, four quarters per acre ;
one hundred others, three quarters per acre; one hundred others,
two quarters per acre ; and the last and worst one hundred acres,
122 EFFECT OF TAXATION ON AGRICULTURALPRODUCE.

only one quarter per acre. We will suppose, also, that the wages
of ten men for a year amount at an average to .£400, or £40 a
man ; that the farmer has to advance these wages for a year before
the produce is sold ; and that the average rate of profit in similar
occupations, is ten per cent. per annum. Under such circumstances,
when wheat was ._2 4s. a quarter it would be worth his while to
employ every man whose labour produced twenty quarters, the price
of which would amount to £44, being £40 for the labourer's wages,
and £¢ for the farmer's profit. The forty men supposed to be
employed on the four best qualities of soil produce each this amount
and more ; the ten men employed on the fifth quality of soil produce
each precisely this amount, namely, a return of two hundred quarters,
worth £440. The sixth and last quality of soil, on which one man
could produce only ten quarters, would not repay the cultivation of
wheat. :Now, if a tax were laid on raw produce, which, to make the
illustrations less complex, we will call a tax of 14s. Sd. on every
quarter of wheat, and no rise of price should take place, it is obvious
that it would no longer be wurth his while to cultivate any land of
worae quality than that in which the labour of ten men could l_roduce
three hundred quarters of corn ; a return which, at the existin_ price
of ,£2 4s. a quarter, would procure £G60, being £220 for the ta_,
and £440 as before for wages and profits. But it would obviously"
be worth his while to cultivate land of that quality, and also to
employ labour in the cultivation of his superior land up to the point
at which the labour of an additional man would no longer produce an
additional product of thirty quarters. :Nothing but a tax so great as
absolutely to prohibit agriculture, such a tax as never has existed,
and which would, in fact, be ratl_er a penalty than a tax, could
induce him to discharge all his labourers, and leave his best land
uncultivated. We do not deny tha_ he would be a loser, even
by the conduct which we have supposed him to adopt. We do not
deny that he would much have preferred a rise in the price of corn
equal to tile tax,--a rise which would have enabled him to continue
in its existing investment all his agricultural capital. But we deny
that any imposition to which the name of a tax can fairly be applied,
though unaccompanied by a rise of price, would induce him altogether
to discontinue production. And we wish to draw the attention of our
readers to the contrast between his situation and that of the manu-
facturer, whom any tax, however slight, if unaccompanied by a rise
of price, must in time force to discontinue manufacturing. What is
a remedy to the agriculturist is an aggravation of evil to the manu-
facturer ; a diminution of capital makes what remains in agriculture
more productive, and makes what remains in manufactures less so.
It has been supposed, however, that the price of agricultural pro-
duce would rise to the full amount of the tax, and that the whole
amount of that tax would consequently fall on the consumer. This
 EFFECT OF TAXATION ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. ]23

is the opinion of Mr. Ricardo and of Mr. Mill. And it is on this

ground that they both maintain that the effect of tithes is to produce
a rise in the price of raw produce equal to the whole value of the
tithe, and affecting equally all classes so far as they are consumers of
raw produce. We believe that the immediate effect of a general tax on
raw produce is to raise the price, but to an amount not equal to that of
the tax; but that its ultimate effect is to diminish the consumption
and production of raw produce, but to leave its price unaffected.
To prove our first proposition we need only show that the rise of
price, which we admit to be the immediate consequence of the imposi-
tion of the tax, would diminish the consumption, and consequently
the production of the taxed commodity. It has been shown ah'eady
that as production is diminished, the expense of producing the
quantity still produced is diminished : and that the price of agricul-
tural produce depends on the expense of producing that portion
of it which is produced at the greatest expense, or, in other words,
under circumstances of equal competition. That no person would
diminish his consumption of corn in consequence of the rise of its
price, is therefore a premise necessary to the conclusion which we
are combating. This is true as respects that portion of the population
of England which is dependent on parochial relief. In those districts
in which the amount of that relief is calculated with reference to the
price of bread, their means of purchasing are unconnected with price,
and neither rise with its fall nor sink with its rise. It is true, also,
as respects the famihes of those opulent individuals (a prominent, hut
in fact a small portion of society) whose direct expenditure in bread
and flour bears a small proportion to their general expenses. But
the bulk of the community, consisting of the labourers who receive no
parish assistance, and happily they are now the majority, and we
trust, will soon be the great majority ; and the smaller shopkeepers
and farmers, unquestionably regulate, in a great measure, their
purchases of wheat by its price. Much of their consumption, when
it is comparatively cheap, consists of puddings and pies, articles of
mere luxury, which, on the slightest rise, are immediately discon-
tinued. If the rise continue, they turn from wheaten bread to
cheaper subsistence: in the North to oatmeal, in the South to
potatoes. And, indeed, without recurring to details, it may be laid
down as a principle of universal application, that, in the absence of
disturbing causes, every increase in the price of a commodity must
diminish both the ability and the will to purchase it.
We now proceed to prove our second proposition, namely, that the
ultimate effect of a tax on raw produce is not to raise its price, but to
diminish the quantity produced. It will be at once adm,tted that the
price of raw produce, in any Country, does not depend on the positive
extent, or on the positive fertility of that Country, but, all the other
things remaining the same, on the proportion which that extent, or
124 TITHES.

that fertility bears to the number and wealth of the existing inhabi-
tants. It may be low in a barren territory, if that territory be
thinly peopled, just as it may be high in a fertile and populous one.
It is high in the rich Lowlands of Scotland, and low in the sandy
plains of Poland. And it will also be admitted that, all other things
remaining the same. the population of a Country is in proportion to
its extent and its fertility. :Now, the ultimate effect of tithes, or of
any other tax, on the cultivation of land, is precisely the same as if
the Country in which they have long prevailed was thereby rendered
rather less extensive, or rather less fertile, and, consequentl3, rather
less populous, and probably also rather poorer than it otherwise
would have been.
'rithe,.--If England, from time immemorial, had been rather more
extensive, or rather more fertile than it now is, no one will suppose
that the price of provisions would have been lower than it now is.
We should have had rather more corn, and a rather greater popula-
tion to eat that corn, than we now have. The increase would have
been positive, not relative. So if Devonshire or Lincolnshire had
never existed, the agricultural produce and the population of England
would each have been positively diminished ; but, as they would have
berne the same proportion to one another as they do now, the price
of the existinz quantity of corn could not have been higher than it is
now. So if tithes had never existed, we should have had rather
more corn and a rather lar_er and probably a rather richer popula-
tion ; every thing else would have been as i_ is. It is true that, if a
new Devonshire, or a new Lincolnshire_ fit for immediate cultivation,
were now suddenly added to our shores, the immediate consequences
would be an increased supply of provisions, and a fall in their price.
But it is also true that, if this accession to our territory were followed
by no change in our hahits and institutions, the comparative cheap-
ness, which would be its immediate consequence, would gradually
disappear as our population rose with the increased supply of subsis-
tence, and, ultimately, we should be just where we are now, excepting
that we should be rather more numerous. So, if tithes were suddenly
commuted, and their interference, such as it is, with agricultural
improvement, got rid of, the same consequences would follow as if the
extent of our territory, or its fertility, were suddenly aug'mented. And,
supposing no improvement to take place in our institutions and habits,
the consequent increase of our population would bring us back, as far
as the price of provisions is concerned, to the point at which we are now.
It is probable, indeed, that the ultimate effect of the abolition of
tithes would be not a lowering but an increase of the price of raw
produce. A denser population cultivating a territory, the produo-
tiveness of which had increased in proportion to the increased number
of its inhabitants, would probably advance in opulenoe. The pro-
ductiveness of the soil of a Country in proportion to its population
 TITHES. 105

bein_ given, or, in other words, the amount of raw produce and the
number of people being ascertained, the smaller the extent of the
land from which that amount is obtained the better. The expenses of
transport, and the trouble and loss of time in journeys, are material
elements of the cost of production both in agriculture and in manu-
factures, and the amomlt of these expenses depends principally on
the extent of Country affording a given return. As our industry
became more efficient the value of our labour would rise in the
general market of the world, and the consequence would be a general
rise of prices, in which a_ricultural produce would participate. B_lt
these statements form no part of our argument. We believe, indeed,
that the ultimate effect of tithes is to lower the price of raw produce :
but all that we have undertaken to show is, that they do not raise it.
From these premises follow very important practical inferer, ces. If
we lay a tax on tile production at home of any manufactured com-
modity which is produced with the same, or nearly the same, facdity
abroad, it is absolutely necessary that a duty of the same, or a rather
ffrea_er amount, should be imposed on the importation of that commo-
di:v. On the imposition of the tax the cost of production at home is
increased, first by the tax, and, secondly, by the i_creascd expense of
producing the sn_aller quanthy which, wilen the price becomes higher,
continues to be dema_,ded. But if importation were untaxed, the
cost of production abroad would be dimiifished in consequence of ti_e
dimini.q_cd prop,rti,_nate c::pense of producing the larger quantity
demanded. The domestic prodt'etion, and with the domestic _roduc-
tiou the tax. would not be mere b dimini,-_hed, but absolutet_- destroyed,
and the whole result would be gratuitous evil. But when a tax,
unbalanced by any countervailing duty on im?ortation, is imposed on
any agricultural produce for which a foreia'n substitute can be obtained,
the only result is to stop that porthm, width i.__nost e,cpe_._ivc of the
domestic production. The least productive part of the existing agri-
cultural capicd is withdrawn, or worn nut without being replaced.
The deficiency is attempted to be supplied by importation; but the
increased demand, instead of lowering, as would be die case with
manufactures, raises the cost of production abroad, just as the dimin-
ished demand, instead of raising, lowers the cost of production at
home. Tt_e price of agricultural in'educe rises until the state of the
popuhaion has accommodated itself to the change, and then falls to
its ft,rmer level. ]f our present heavy tax on the domestic produ_.tiou
of glass were unbalanced by any duty ou importation, all the English
glass-works would in time be abandoned. Or, if some of our gl._ss-
works were free from the tax, and others subjet.t to it, all those which
were taxed would be ruined. But the lands in England which are
subject to the payment of tithes are not thrown out of cultivation by
the competition of those which are free fl'om that burden, or by the
importation of the tithe-free corn and cattle of Scotland, or of the
 126 TITHES.

comparatively tithe-free produce of Ireland. The estates which are

subject to tithes continue to be productive, they continue even to
afford a rent, though the burden diminishes the productiveness, and
diminishes in a still greater degree the rent.
Before we quit the subject of tithes, it may be worth while to
expose another error connected with them, namely, the popular
opinion that their tendency to increase in amount is greater than that
of rent. We believe the fact to be just the reverse.
Tithes are a definite, rent is an indefinite, share of the-produce.
Tithes can never exceed a tenth ; rent need not be a tenth, or evec a
hundredth, but may amount to a fourth, a third, a half, or even more
than a half. Tithes, therefore, can be exacted, where rent cannot be ;
but when once any spot of land can afford to pay both rent and tithes,
there is no comparison between their respective powers of increase.
Thie will immediately appear on a reference to the familiar illustration
of the progress of rent.
If we suppose a Country to be divided into ten districts designated
by the numbers from 1 to 10, each of equal extent, but each of a
different degree of fertility, No. 1 producing, at a given expense, two
hundred quarters of corn, and the amount of the produce, at the
same expense, of each quality of land, diminishing by ten quarters,
until we come to No. 10, which produces only one hundred quarters,
we shall find that when No. 1 only will pay for cultivation, it affords
twenty quarters for tithes, and no rent. When the price of corn has
risen sufficiently to enable No. 2 to be cultivated, there will be on
Nos. 1 and 2 thirty-nine quarters for tithes, and on :No. 1 ten for
rent. When No. 3 has become worth cultivation, there will be on
:Nos. 1, 2, and 3, fifty-seven for tithes, and on Nos. 1 and 2 thirty
for rent. When No. 4 has become worth cultivating, there will be
on Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, seventy-four for tithes, and on Nos. 1, 2, and
3, sixty for rent. When No. 5 has become worth cultivating, there
will be on iNos. ], 2, 3, 4, and 5, ninety for tithes, and on Nos. 1,
2, 3, and 4, one hundred for rent. Rent has now passed tithes, and
its subsequent superiority is very striking. When No. 6 has become
worth cultivating, there will be one hundred and five for tithes, and
one hundred and fifty for rent. When No. 7 has become worth
cultivating, there will be one hundred and nineteen for tithes, and
two hundred and ten for rent. When No. 8 has become worth
cultivating, tithes will be one hundred and thirty-two, and rent two
hundred and eighty. When No. 9 has become worth cultivating,
tithes will be one hundred and forty-four, and rent three hundred and
sixty. And when No. ]0 has become worth cultivating, tithes will
be one hundred and fifty-five, and rent four hundred and fifty. And
the same results will follow if, instead of supposing fi'esh land of &
regularly decreasing fertility to be taken into cultivation, we suppose
further capital to be applied to the same land, with a regularly
 TITHES. I27

decreasing proportionate return. Of course we do not mean that

either of these suppositions represents what actually takes place, hut
they each represent the course of events to which there is a natural
tendency. They represent the relative ratio at which rent and tithes
would increase in the absence of disturbing causes. It must be
recollected, however, that these events would not take place in the
regular order in which we have placed them, excep_ on the supposi-
tion of each different district which we have supposed to be succes-
sively cultivated being of the same extent, and of each successive
application of capital being of the same vaJue. If, for instance,
No. 10 were ten times as large as any one of the other districts, and
received ten times as much capital, it would increase the whole
amount of titheable produce by one thousand quarters instead of by
one hundred quarters, and tithes would be raised from one hundred
and forty-four quarters to two hundred and forty-four quarters, while
rent would have risen only from three hundred and sixty quarters to
four hundred and fifty. In such an event, therefore, tithes would
rise more than rent. And it must also be recollected that tithes
and rent do not rise at precisely the same period. The highest
amount of rent must be just before the land producing the additional
supply has been cultivated. The increased demand is then in full
operation, and has not been counteracted by the increased supply.
But the amount of tithes is not increased until after the additional
supply has been produced. Their increase, therefore, is generally
contemporaneous with a temporary fall of rent : which is probably one
of the causes of the popular opinion that their general tendency to
increase is greater than that of rent. Another source of that opinion
is, that in England the land has been for centuries subject to a con-
stant process of subdivision, while tithes, except the comparatively
small part which belongs to laymen, have not. The incumbent of a
given benefice receives the tithes of the same quantity of land which
was tithed by his predecessor three hundred years ago. :But that
land three hundred years ago may have belonged to one or two
persons, and may now be divided between ten or twenty. The
present incumbent's income may bear a higher proportion than his
predecessors did to the average income of a single landlord, though
it bears a lower proportion to the aggregate income of all the landlords
of the parish. And as a general proposition, we have no doubt that,
in a progressive Country, the value of tithes will seldom increase in
proportion to the increasing value of the land out of which they issue.
It appears, therefore, that in a new or ill-peopled Country where
the abundance of land and the want of agricultural capital almost
prevent the existence of rent, in the economical sense of the word,
tithes are the only endowment which a Clergy can receive from the
soil. We see, therefore, why they were adopted for the Israelites,
who, in fact, were colonists, and by our Danish and Saxon ancestors.
 128 RELATIVE PROPORTIONSOF RENT, PROFIT, AND WAGES.

We see too why the attempt to endow with lands the Canadian Church
has so signally failed. Tithes would not, perhaps, have been a politic,
but they would have been all actual endowment. The reserves stand
so many desert spots in the midst of improvements retarding the
settlement, interrupting the communications, and injuring the wealth
and civibzation of all that is rom,d them. Five centuries hence they
might afford an ample provision.
I_ELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF RENT, PROFIT_ AND WAGES.

Having gi_en a general outline of the three great classes among

whom all that is produced is distributed, and of the general laws
which regulate the comparative values of different products, we now
proceed to consider tim general laws which regulate the proportions

distributi,Ju, or, in other words, which regulate the proportions which

in which
_l_ent, Landlords,
Profit, Cai,itaiNts,
and Wages bear to and Labourers share in the general
one another.
N'omvnclature.--_¥e have followed the established nomenclature
which divides society rote Landlords, Capitahsts, and Labmlrers ; and

to be the revem, e 8jlolddr_cousll, l o_:_'c_l bff _*ature or accldc_t, ; "_VAGES,

(he reward of labour ; and PRofIT, tht_t qf abs_i_zc,we. A _ a distance
_eveuuedivisions
the_-e into ]lent,
appearWaCes.clearly
and marked,
Profit. butAndwhen
we haywe edefined
look intoP_ry'r
the
details, we find them so intermingled that it is scarcely possible to
subject them to a classification which shall not sometimes appear to
be inconsistent, and still more frequently to be arbitrary. But it
must be remembered that questions of classification relate rather to
language than to facts ; and that our object will have been cffeeted
if we can assist the memory by supplying a precise and consistent
nomenclature.
We will begin by recurring to a subject to which we have already
alluded, the frequent difficulty of deciding whether a given revenue
ouzi_t or ought not to be called P_ent. When an estate has been for
some time leased to a careful tenant, it generally receives permanent
ameliorations, which enable the owner, at the expiration of the lease,
to obtain a hi.;her rent. sk bog worth 2s. annually an acre may be
converted into arable or pasture worth aunually £_ Is the increase
of revenue rent or profit ? It arises from an additional fertility, now
inseparably attached to the land. It is received by the owner
witil,ut sacrifice on his part. It is, in fact, undistinguishable fl'om
the previous rent. On tile other hm_d, its existence is owing to the
abstinence of tile farmer, who devoted to a distant object, the anne-
Iteration of the land, labour which he might have employed in pro-
ducing immediate enj,yment for himself. If the owner of the estate
had farmed it himself, and had directed labour to be employed on its
permanent improvement, the additional produce occasioned by those
improvements would dearly have been termed profit. It appears,
 RELATIVE PROPORTIO_'SOF RENT, PROFIT_AND WAGES. 129

therefore, most convenient to term it profit when occasioned by the

improvements made by a tenant. In fact, these improvements are as
consistently to be termed capital as a dock or a cotton-mill. Whose
capital are they then ? Durin_ the lease the capital of the tenant ;
when it has fallen in, the capital of the landlord, who has purchased
them by engaging not to raise the rent during the currency of the
lease.
We may be asked, then, whether the improvements which form the
greater part of the value of the soil of every well-cultivated district
are all, and for ever, to be termed capital .* Whether the payments
received frmn his tenants by the present owner of' a Lincolnshir_
estate, reclaimed by the Romans fi'om the sea, are to be termed, not
rent but profit on the capital which was expended fifteen centuries
ago ? The answer is, that, for all useful purposes, the distinction of
profit from rent ceases as soon as the capital, from which a given
revenue arises, has become, whether by gift or by inheritance, the
.property of a person to whose abstinence and exerti.,)ns it did not owe
Its creation. Tile revenue arising from a dock, or a wharf, or a
canal is orofit in the hands of the or(q_nal condructor. It is the
reward of" his abstinence in having employed capital for the pur-
poses of production it:stead of for those of enjoyment. But in the
hands of his heir it has all the attributes of rent. It is to him the
gift of fortune, not the result of a sacrifice. It ,nay be said, indeed,
that such a revenue is the reward for the owner's abstinence in not
selling the dock or the canal and spending its price in enj_*yment.
But the same remark applies to every species of transferable property,
:Every estate may be sold, and the purchase money wasted. If the
last basis of classification were adopted, the greater part of what
every Political Econ(,mi_t has termed rent must be called profit.
Again, there are few employments in which extraordinary powers
of body or mind do not receive an extraordinary remuneration. It is
the privilege of talent to work not only better but more easily. It
will generally be found, therefore, that the commodity or service
produced by a first-rate workman, while it sells for more than an
average price, has cost less than an average amount of labour. Sir
Walter Scott could write a volume with the labour of ,ibout three
hours a-day for a month_ and for so doing received £500 or £1000,
An ordinary writer, with equal application, would find it diti-lcult to
produce a volume in three months, and still more di_cuh to sell it
for £50.
Is then the extraordinary remuneration of the labourer, which is
asslste/t by extraordinary talents, to be termed Rent or Wages ? it
originates in the bounty of nature ; so far it seems to be rent. It is
to be obtained only on the condition of undergoing labour ; so far it
seems to be wages. It might be termed, with equal correctness, re_',
which can be r_ceived only by a labourer, or wages, which can be
K
 J
130 RELATIVE PROPORTIONSOF RENT, PROFIT, AND WAGES.

received only by the proprietor of a natural agent. But as it is clearly

a surplus, the labour having been previously paid for by average
wages, and that surplus the spontaneous gift of nature, we have
thought it most convenient to term it rent. And for the same reason
we term q'cnt what might, with equal correctness, be termed fortuitous
profit. We mean the surplus advantages which are sometimes derived
from the employment of capital after makin_ full compensation for all
the risk that has been encountered, and all the sacrifices which have
been made, by the capitalist. Such are the fortuitous profits of the
holders of warlike stores on the breaking out of unexpected hostilities ;
or of the holders of b_ack cloth on the sudden death of one of the
Royal family. Such would be the additional revenue of an Anglesea
miner, if, instead of copper, he should come on an equally fertile vein
of silver. The silver would, without doubt, be obtained by means of
labour and abstinence ; but they would have been repaid by an equal
amount of copper. The extra value of the silver would be the gift of
nature, and therefore rent.
Secondly. It is still more difficult to draw the line between Profit
and Wages. There are, perhaps, a few cases in which capital may
improve in value, without superintendence or change, simply by being
preserved from consumption. Wine and timber, perhaps, afford
instances. But even a wine-cellar or a plantation, if totally neglected,
would probably deteriorate. And, as a general role, it may be laid
down that capital is an instrument which, to be productive of profit,
must be employed, and that the person who directs its employment
must labour, that is, must to a certain degree conquer his indolence,
sacrifice his favourite pursuits, and often incur other inconveniences
from his residence, from the persons to whose contact he is exposed,
from confinement, or from exposure to the weather, and must also
often submit to some inferiority of rank. If labour be in general
necessary to the use of material capital, it is universally necessary to
the use of that immaterial capital which consists of appropriate know-
ledge, and of moral and intellectual habits and reputation,--a capital
created and kept up at more expense, and productive of a greater
return than that which is material, but which, from the impossibility
of actually transferring it, or implanting in one man the ability of
another, can never be productive but through the labour of its pos-
sessor.
Is then the remuneration of this labour to be termed Wages or
Profit ? A certain portion of it, that portion which would be sufficient
to repay equal exertions and hardships endured byan ordinary labourer,
unprovided with capital, must, without doubt, be termed wages. And
where extraordinary natural talents or favourable accidents have
occasioned the exertions of the capitalist to obtain more than an
verage remuneration, that excess is, as we have already seen, rent.
ut the revenue to which our present question applies is the revenue
 RELATIVE PROPORTIONSOF RENT, PROFIT, AND WA(_ES. 131

| obtained from the employment of capital, after deducting ordinary

;_interest on the capital, as the remuneration for the abstinence of the
]_ capitalist, ordinary wages, as the remuneration for his labour, and any
/_ extraordinary advantages which may have been the result of aeciden[.
The subject may be made clearer by a few examples ; and we have
endeavoured to find some in which the remuneration for the capitalist's
trouble, instead of being, as is usually the case, mixed up with the
gross amount of his returns, appears as a separate item. The trade
of bill-broking affords an instance. The business of a bill-broker is
to advance, before it becomes due, the money for which bills of
exchange are drawn, deducting, under the name of discount, interest
at the rate of not more than five per cent. per annum on the sum
secured by the bill. In time of peace, and in the ordinary state of
the money-market, the rate of discount varies from four to three per
cent. per annum. It has been sometimes as low as two and-a-half. It
appears at first strange that such a trade should exist, since the money
capital employed in it does not return even so high a profit as may
often be obtained from the public funds, leaving the additional risk
and labour uncompensated. It is, in fact, a trade which no one _vould
carry on if he employed in it his own money.
The commercial inhabitants of a great trading city have from time
to time under their control considerable sums of money for short
periods. Scarcely a single estate in this Country is mortgaged or
sold without the price or the mortgage-money being placed for some
days at a banker's or agent's until the "more last words" of the
lawyers have been said. These sums cannot in the mean time be
employed in any permanent investment; but they can be lent from
day to day, or, in some cases, from week to week, and it is better to
lend them at the lowest rate of interest than to suffer them to lie
perfectly idle. The bill-broker's trade is to borrow these sums from
week to week, or even from day to day, at one rate of interest, and
to lend them from month to month, or for two or three months, at a
higher. To borrow, for instance, at two per cent., and to lend at three.
It is obvious that these operations require much knowledge, industry,
and skill. The broker must be well acquainted with the circumstances
of almost every eminent commercial man in order to estimate the
value of his acceptance or indorsement. He must keep up his know-
ledge by unremittiog observation, and by inferences drawn from very
slight hints and appearances. He must also have the skill so to
manage his concerns as to have his receipts always falling in to cor-
respond with his engagements. This knowledge, and the moral and
intellectual habits which enable him to apply it, form his personal or
immateriM oapital. But he must also have a material capital, not
for the purpose of being employed in his business, for no one would
so employ money of his own, but as the means of obtaining confidence.
The interest paid by a broker is so trifling, that no one would lend to
 ]32 RELATIVE PROPORTIONSOF RENT, PROFIT, AND WAGES.

him if it implied the slightest risk ; and the best pledge which he can
give is the notoriety of his possessing a largo capital, which could at
any time make good an unforeseen interruption in his regular receipts.
This capital he must not waste, but he may employ it productively,
and may consume on himself the annual profit derived from it. The
confidence which it enables him to enjoy is a distinct advantage.
We will suppose a bill-broker to possess £100,000, in the Four per
Cents.; and to have suflieient knowledge, skill, and character as a
man of business and of wealth, to be able, at, an average throughout
the year, to borrow £400,000 at two per cent., and to lend the same
sum at three per cent. Is the £4000 a-year which his business
would give him wages or profit ?
Again, a capital which in this Country would enable its employer to
obtain ten per cent., would often, if he were to employ it in Jamaica
or Calcutta, produce fifteen or twenty. If the capitalist with £50,000
encounter the climate and the society of Jamaica, and is rewarded by
his annual returns being raised from £5000 to £7500, is his additional
income of £2500 a-year wages o1"profit ?
There is no doul_t that a sufiieient portion of it to purchase the
same services fi'om a person unpro)'ided with capital, must be con-
sidered as w'/ges: _St) a-year, however, would considerably exceed
this sum. The remaining £2000 a-year may be considered, with
equal correctness, either wages which can be received only by the
possessor of £500,000, or profit which can be received only bv a person
willing to labour in Jamaica.
Adam Smith considers it as profit. "The profits of stock," he
observes, -°-_" it may, perlmps, be thought, are only a different name
for the wages of a particular sort of labour, the labour of inspection
or direction. They are, however, altogether different, are regulated
by quite different principles, and bear no proportion to the quantity,
the hardship, or the ingenuity of this supposed labour of inspection
and direction. They are regulated altogether by the value of the
stock employed, and are greater or smaller in proportion to this
stock. If we suppose two manufacturers, the one employing a capital
of £1000, and the other one of £7300, in a place where the common
profits of manufacturing stock are ten per cent., the one will expect
a profit of about ._100 a-year, while the other will expect about £730.
Yet their labour of inspection may be very nearly or altogether the
same. In many great works, almost the whole labom" of this kind is
committed to some principal clerk. His wages properly express the
value of this labour of inspection and direction. Though in settling
them some regard is commonly had, not only to his labour and skill,
bu: to the trust which is reposed in him, yet they never bear any
regular proportion to the capital of which he oversees the manage-

2_Booki. ch. vi.

 RELATIVE PROPORTIONSOF RENT, PROFIT, AND WAGES. 133

merit. And the owner of this capital, though he is thus discharged

of almost all labour, still expects that his profits should bear a regular
)roportion to his capital."
After much hesitation, we have resolved to adopt this as the most
convenient classification, and to confine the term wages to the
remuneration for simple labour; including under the word labour
the endurance of all its attendant hardships, but excluding from the
word wages the additional revenue which the labourer often receives
because he happens to be also a capitalist. We have done so on the
grounds which are so ably stated in the passage which we lastly quoted.
To revert to our supposition of a capitalist with £50,000 repaid by
an extra revenue of £2500 a-year for living in Jamaica : it is clear
that another capitalist taking there £100,000 would, cq;cris paribus,
obtain an extra revenue of £5000 a-year, and that notwithstanding
his labour would not necessarily be greater than that of the first-
mentioned capitalist, or notwithstanding it might in fact be much less.
Perhaps the best plan might appear to be, to apply the term v:aqc._
to the remuneration of mere labour, the term interest to the remunera-
tion of mere abstinence, a,ld the term ])rofit to the combination of
wages and interest, to the remuneration of abstinence and labour
combined. This would make it necessary to subdivide capitalists
into two classes, the inactive and the active: the first receiving mere
interest, the second obtaining profit.
In this, however, as in many other cases, the inconveniences
occasioned by a departure from an established nomenclature and an
established classification are so great, that we do not think that they
will be compensated by the nearer approach to precision. We shail
continue, therefore, to include under the term profit the whole revenue
that is obtained from the possession or employment of capital, after
deducting those accidental advantages which we have termed rent,
and also deducting a sufficient sum to pay to the capital;st, if actively
employed, the wages which would purchase an equal amount of labour
from a person unpossessed of capital. In one respect, however, we
are forced to differ from Adam Smith. Although he considers the
useful acquired knowledge and abilities of all the inhabitants of a
Country as part of the national fortune, as a capital fixed and realized
in the persons of their possessors, yet he generally terms the revenue
derived from this capital wages. " The average and ordinary rates of
profit in the different employments of stock are," he observes, "more
nearly on a level than the wages of the different sorts of labour. The
difference between the earnings of a common labourer and those of a
well-employed lawyer or physician, is evidently much greater than
that between the ordinary profits in any two different branches of
trade." Book i. ch. x.
According to our nomenclature (and indeed according to that of
Smith, if the produce of capital is to be termed profit) a very small
134 RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF RERT, PROFIT,AND WAGES.

portion of the earnings of the lawyer or of the physician can be called

wages. Forty pounds a-year would probably pay all the labour that
either of them undergoes, in order to make, we w_ say, ;£4000
a-year. Of the remaining £3960, probably ;£3000 may in each case
be considered as rent, as the result of extraordinary talent or good for-
tune. The rest is profit ell their respective capitals; capitals partly
consisting of knowledge, and of moral and intellectual habits acquired
by much previous expense and labour, and partly of connection and
reputation acquired during years of probation while their fees were
inadequate to their support.
Under this view of the case, the revenue which consists of profit
will in the progress of improvement bear a constantly increasing pro-
portion to that which consists of wages. There appears no reason
to doubt that, as civilization advances, every person will receive an
education which will materially increase his power of production.
Brutes and machinery can effect almost every thing that is to be
effected by mere bodily exertion. Whatever requires mind, will be
done better in proportion as the mind has received earlier or more
judicious cultivation. We have heard it made a subject of complaint,
that the uneducated Irish have dispossessed the English of the lowest
employments in London and its neighbourhood. We rather rejoice
that the English are sufficiently educated to be fit for better things.
If they had remained as ignorant as their rivals, many who are now
earning 40s. a-week as mechanics, might have been breaking stones
and carrying hods at 2s. a-day. Even in our present state of civiliza-
tion, which, high as it appears by comparison, is far short of what
may easily be conceived, or even of what may confidently be expected,
the intellectual and moral capital of Great Britain far exceeds all her
material capital, not only in importance, but even in productiveness.
The families that receive mere wages probably do not form a fourth
of the community ; and the comparatively large amount of the wages
even of these is principally owing to the capital and skill with which their
efforts are assisted and directed by the more educated members of the
society. Those who receive mere rent, even using that word in its
largest sense, are still fewer: and the amount of rent, like that of
wages, principally depends on the knowledge by which the gifts of
nature are directed and employed. The bulk of the national revenue
is profit ; and of that profit the portion which is mere interest on
material capital probably does not amount to one-third. The rest is
the result of personal capital, or, in other words, of education.
It is not on the accidents of soil or climate, or on the existing
accumulation of the material instruments of produetion, but on the
quantity and the diffusion of this immaterial capital, that the wealth
of a Country depends. The climate, the soil, and the situation of
Ireland have been described as superior, and certainly are not much
inferior, to our own. Her poverty has been attributed to the want of
 PROPORTIONATEAMOU'NTOF RENT. 135

material capital; but were Ireland now to exchange her native

population for seven millions of our English 1%rth Countrymen, they
would quickly create the capital that is wanted. And were England,
North of Trent, to be peopled exclusively by a million of families from
the West of Ireland, Lsncashire and Yorkshire would still more rapidly
resemble Connaught. Ireland is physically poor because she is moraltv
and intellectually poor, because she is morally and intellectually
uneducated. And while she continues uneducated, while the ignorance
and violence of her population render persons and property insecure,
and prevent the accumulation and prohibit the introduction of capital,
legislative measures, intended solely and directly to relieve her poverty,
may not indeed be ineffectual, for they may aggravate the disease, the
symptoms of which they are meant to palliate, but undoubtedly will
be productive of no permanent benefit. Knowledge has been called
power; it is far more certainly wealth. Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt,
and the Northern coast of Africa, were once among the richest, and
are now among the most miserable countries in the world, simply
because they have fallen into the hands of a people without a suffi-
ciency of the immaterial sources of wealth to keep up the material ones.
" In what way," asks Adam Smith, " has Europe contributed to the
grandeur of the colonies of America? In one way, and in one way
only, she has contributed a great deal. Magna vi_am mater. She
bred and formed the men who were capable of achieving such great
actions, and for laying the foundation of so great an empire; and there
is no other quarter of the world of which the policy is capable of
forming, or has ever actually and in fact formed such men. The
colonies owe to Europe tile education and great views of their active
and interprising thunders, and some of the greatest and most important
of them owe to her scarce any thing else."
CAUSESONWHICHTHE PROPORTIONATE AMOUNTOr RElier DEt'ENDS.

We have already defined Rent to be the revenue spontaneously

offered by nature or accident, or, in other words, to be the price paid
for the assistance of an appropriated natural agent. It might with
equal propriety be defined the surplus produce arising from the use of
an appropriated natural agent, or the amount by which the price of the
produce of an appropriated natural agent exceeds the costs of its pro-
duction.
The nature and the progress of the Rent of Land have usually been
illustrated by supposing lands of different fertility to be successively
taken into cultivation. Thus the land No. 1 is supposed to afford, in
return for the application of a given amount of labour and capital, one
hundred quarters; No..'2, ninety quarters; No. 3, eighty quarters;
No. 4, seventy quarters; No. 5, sixty quarters; and so on. While
any portion of the most fertile lands is unappropriated, No. 1 only is
cultivated, and no rent is paid. Before it has become necessary to
]3tJ PROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF RENT.

cultivate :No. 2, No. 1 must have become an appropriated agenL

affording a larger return than can be obtained without its assistance.
Its owner, or, as he is termed, the landlord, obtains, therefore, the
value of that assistance, being ten quarters, or the difference between
one hundred quarters and ninety quarters; and receives it himself, in
kind, if he himself is the cultivator, or is paid for it the remuneration
termed "rent." if he allows another person to be the cultivator.
Before it has become necessary to cultivate No. 3, the rent of No. 1
must have ri_cn from ten quarters to twenty, and No. 2, from giving no
rent, must have given a rent of ten quarters; and so on until the point is
reached at which the labour and capital employed will produce a return
only sufficient to give a bare subsistence to the labourer and average
profits to the capitalist: the highest extreme to which cultivation can be
intentionally pushed, and one indeed beyond which it is seldom carried.
It is obvious, therefore, that the amount of rent depends on two
causes : l. the positive productiveness of the natural agent by which
it is afforded ; 2. the comparative productiveness of that agent, or the
degree in which it exceeds those agents which are universallyaccessible.
If the supply of natural agents were unlimited, or if their power of
affording assistance were to cease, in either case rent would be at an end.
Rent is the value of their assistance, and that value, like all others,
depends partly on their utility, and partly on their limitation of supply.
Much error has arisen from attending to only one of these causes.
The French Economists 0.2perceived that the produce of fertile land,
2': Le laboureur e_t l( soul dent le travail Fous re pourer D'ourer le meilleur _tat
produi_,,e au d_'h_ du _,alaire du lrarall, posstb/e d'une nal,o_, que dons ]a plus
I! esl doue l'umq_,e ._ou_ce de' lou[e riche_._e, v_rande riehesse possible. J'eulends ici par
Za torte, D_dQ_endamme_/ de tout auere la ferule de rlche_se, une mas,e de valeurx
heroine el de lonle eom'eMton, lui pale dlSpO111b]os, de raleurs qu'on pu_sse eou-
_l,_tut(dialen_c'u _ /e t)r/3 de, son lt'_ratl. La sonlluey au _tl','de sos (l_:_ir% ._aus (al_]ntuv _
_,¢dure lie _u_rc]¢aHde ],9in[ a_'ec lai pour rlr. ,_uJ_s ullerer le prtnclt)e qni lcs reproduil
1_oblitter _) ._¢ conlehtFr du n¢'ee._sairo _¢bsoln. sans o'ssv.
--CO qq¥!le denim u'esl }.,opotqtot_lt_e ui ¢_b L_ medleur elal possible e.ct dcidemme_d
ePS besoit_s Iz: li nye _l'aluaQou coueenlton- evlui (luquel est attacl_ee la plus _,lrandc
nolle dzt prm d, sos .io_Lf_tSes. ( "es/ le s3rel¢ : d cvmei.,le done dons la plus ,,rande
r,'_zdlal phffmqu_ de la /'erltldt[ du sol, el de nlusse t_ossth/e de valears dtspontb/es : ¢_r
Ia ]nsfes_, b_.'n l)ln, q_te de la de,,_eMt," de_ ee _oM te._ seules donl _ou_ put.s.won.,loujour¢
mo?m_m, qutl _t em_dov_ pour b' r,_Mre .'toutr, el sat lesqnelles la s_rel_' putssv
f_co_td. D.zs que h./farad du leboureur .s'etabIIr.
produit au deD_ de se.¢ bcsoins, il pc'M, aree Je roudrois bein que "rues lee/ears dora..s-
ee s zpet:ttu qne let _mlarc iut aceorde en pur sent d cello v:ril( tonic l' atteutton qu'elle"
don, au dvlF_ du _ala_re de sespetne_, ueheler morale, je voudrots bien qu" lie saisissenl qua
le trot,oil dr._ uutre_ mentbre, de la ¢octeld. la richesc_e ue eonsi_le qne duns los valeurs
(2u_-eeeuleluiremPtut reqap_enl quelenr disputables, qu'ou peul _vn._ommer mrs
we, mais le laboutenr reeneille oulre su aucun inconve_,ie_t : par eo_sdqu_at, qu'd
_ubsistenee une riehe_,v dispo*dble, ,lu'll _'a _2'y a que le prodvD net des eu_tlares qui soil
pozrd aehe!Ze, et qu'il vexed. II esl done rirhess*, pareequ'd e_ da_zs la masse des
l' umqne source des rtehes._e_s, qui. par leur r_7)roduetio_s , la seu!c parlie dent rous
eireulation_ anin_ent ton_ los traru_av de la Tuis¢ions dl._poser pour nos jouissar_s : le
soei (l_ : pareequ'il est la seul dort le lrarail sur2)lus de oelle ma_se _Fe.¢ pas dtsponzble
produ_sm an deh_ du salatre da travail, pour nous, il apa_tient d ta cullure, e' e_
1l resle done constant qu'il r_y a de rerenu elle qui lo_ds los ans dott le eorsommer; _ou#
que le produit nel des terres_ et qne tonf aulre re pourons le lui ddrober, que nous n' e_
pro.fit a_muel, ou est pay_ par le revenn, ou so?_onspunispar l'exlirwtiorde _ves riehes_es.
fail parlte des fraix qut servenl d produtre --L' Ordre Nalurel, c],e. pp. 379--381,
le recenu.--Turgot, eel. v. pp. 8-9--126.
 PROPORTIONATEAMOUNT OF RENT. 137

the most important of all appropriated natural agents, sells for a price
exceeding the expense of its cultivation. This excess of price, or
produit net, as they termed it, they conceived to be die only source of
wealth. All other commodities appeared to them merely to represen:
the toil employed in their acquisition. They believed, therefore, a
community to be rich ill proportion to the anaount of rent received by
the proprietors of its land; and consequently that production enriches
only so far as it is subservient to the creation of rent.
It is impossible that they could have maintained this doctrine, if
they had perceived that abundance is an element in wealth, and that
high rents and the greatest abundance are incompatible; or if they
had recollected that, according' _o their views, a community possessing
the highest skill and exerting the utmost diligence, but scattered over
a territory of unbounded extent and fertility, as they might be even
unacquainted wid_ the existence of such a thing as rent, must be
totally without riches, must be poor from the mere prodigality of their
resources,
In the following passage Mr. Iticardo seems to have fallen into an
orposite error :--
•' Nothing is more common than to hear of the advantages which
the land possesses over ever), other source of useful produce, on account
of the surplus which it yields in the _brm of rent. Yet when land is
most abundant, when most prodnetlve, and most fertile, it yields no
rent: and it is only when its powers decay, and less is yielded in return
tbr labour, that a share of the original produce of the more fertile
portions is set apart for rent. It is singular that this quality in the
land, which should have been noticed as an imperfection, compared
with the natural agents by which manufactures are assisted, should
have been pointed out as constituting its peculiar pre-eminence. If
air, water, the elasticity of steam, and the pressure of the atmosphere,
were of various qualities, if they could have been appropriated, and
each quality existed only in moderate abundance, they, as well as the
land, would afford a rent, as the successive qualities were brought into
use. With every worse quality employed, the value of the commo-
dities in the manufacture of which they were used would rise, becauso
equal quantities of labour would be less productive. Man would do
more with the sweat of his brow, and nature would perform less ; and
the land would be no longer pre.eminent for its limited powers.
" If the surplus produce which the land affords in the form of rent
be an advantage, it is desirable that every year the machinery newly
constructed should be less efficient than the old, as that would
undoubtedly give a greater exchangeable value to the goods manufac-
tured, not only by that machinery, but by all other machinery in the
Kingdom; and a rent would be paid to all those who possessed the
most productive machinery.
" The labour of nature is paid not because she does much, but
138 PROPORTIONATEAMOUNTOF RENT.

because she does little. In proportion as she becomes niggardly in

her gifts, she exacts a greater price for her work. Where she is
munificently beneficent she always works gratis." Principles, p. 63.
Mr. Ricardo seems to have forgotten that the quality which enables
land to afford rent, namely, the power of producing the subsistence of
more persons than are required for its cultivation, is an advantage
without which rent could not have existed. As the population of any
given district becomes more dense, the surplus produce of its soil, or,
in other words, the amount of its produce which remains after provision
has been made for the subsistence of those by whom it is cultivated,
has a constant tendency to increase; either because the increase of
agricultural skill and capital increases its positive fertility, or because
a diminution of its relative fertility, a diminution of its produce
relatively to the numbers of its cultivators, forces the poorer classes to
be satisfied with a less amuunt of raw produce; or from both these
causes combined. Of these two causes of rent, one is a benefit, the
other an evil. That we have in this Country perhaps a million of acres
capable of producing, with average labour, forty bushels of corn an
acre, is a benefit; that we have not more than a million such acres is
an evil. That the average amount of what an agricultural labourer
produces much exceeds what is absolutely necessary for the subsistence
of an agricultural family is a benefit. That the extent of our fertile
land, and the amount of our capital, ia proportion to our population,
are not sufficient to enable him to consume, directly or indirectly, for
his own advantage and that of his family, all that he produces, is an
evil. To produce rent, both the benefit and the evil must coexist.
The one occasions rent to be demanded; but it is the other which
enables it to be paid.
Mr. Ricardo's attention seems to have been confined to theevil.
But rent might be enormously increased without the increase of that
evil, or even though that evil should be diminished. If the proprietor
of a single estate could by a wish triple its produce, he would augment,
in a much greater ratio, its rent. Would this increase be owing to the
parsimony of nature? It may be said that it would be owing to the
comparative unproductiveness of the rest of the Country. It must be
admitted that, if we could suddenly triple the productive powers of all
the land in this Country, the population remaining the same, the whole
amount of rent would fall_ and the condition of all classes, except of
that comparatively small class which subsists on the rent of land,
would be much improved. But if our population were also tripled,
rents would be prodigiously increased, the situation of the landlords
would be improved and that of no other class deteriorated. In fact,
the condition of all other classes would be improved, as the increased
division of labour and ease of communication occasioned by a greater
density of population would cheapen and improve our manufactures.
If the population, instead of being tripled, were only doubled, the
 PROPORTIONATEA_IOUNTSOF PROF1TAND WAGES. :139

situation of the Country would be still better. The rise in rent,

though not equg] to what it would have been if the population had
been tripled, would still be very great, and both raw produce and
manufactures would be more abundant than they were previously.
Now this is, in fact, what has occurred in England during the last
hundred and thirty years. Since the beginning of the 18th century
the population of England has about doubled. The produce of the
land has certainly tripled, probably quadrupled. Rent has risen
in a still greater proportion ; but that rise has been accompanied by
a rise of wages, estimated in every commodity consumed by the
labourers, excepting a few, such as spirituous and fermented liquors,
which have been made the subject of special taxation. With the same
labour the labourer can obtain more corn, and perhaps five times as
much of the most useful manufactures. Can it be fairly said that
rents have risen because nature has done little ? that the price paid
for her assistance has been increased because she has become more
niggardly in her gifts ._ It is true that, if the productiveness of the
land, instead of being tripled, had been centupled, rents might not
have risen ; but it is equally true that they would not have risen, if
instead of being tripled, it had remained stationary. The condition
essential to the payment of the labour of nature is not, as Mr. Ricardo
states it, that her assistance shall be little, but that it shall not be
infinite.
As rent arises from the agency not of man, but of nature, its
amount does not depend on the will or the exertions of its recipient.
The owner of the land, or of the natural agent, whatever it be, for the
use of which persons are willing to pay rent, receives the sum which
their mutual competition forces them to give. As it is all pure gain,
he accepts the largest sum that is offered, however trifling its amount.
h'or, on the other hand, does the amount of rent depend on the will
or the exertions of those who pay it. Whatever be the value of the
services of an appropriated natural agent, that value must be paid by
the person who wishes to use them, as both parties to the bargain are
aware, that if it is not hired by one applicant it will be by another.
The amount, therefore, is subject to no general rule ; it has neither a
minimum nor a maximum. It depends on the degree in which nature
has endowed certain instruments with peculiar productive powers, and
the number of those instruments compared with the number and
wealth of the persons able and willing to hire them. There is,
probably, now land near :New York selling for £1000 an acre, which
a century ago could have been obtained for a dollar.
PROPORTIONATE AMOUNTSOF PROFIT ANDWAGES.
Profits and Wages differ in almost all respects from Rent. They
are each subject to a minimum and a maximum. They are subject
to a minimum, becaus_ each of them is the result of a sacrifice. It
140 PROPOgTIO_ATE AMOUNTSOF PROFIT AND WAGES.

may be difficult to say what is the minimum with respect to profit,

but it is clear that every capitalist, as a motive to abstain from the
immediate and unproductive enjoyment of his capital, must require
some remuneration exceeding the lowest that is conceivable. The
minimum at which wages can be permanently fixed is of course the sum
necessary to enable the existing, labouring population to subsist. On
the other hand, as the rate of wages depends in a great measure on
the number of labourers, and the rate of profit on the amount of
capital, both high wanes and high profits have a tendency to produce
their own diminution. High wages, by stimulating an increase of
population, and therefore an increase of the number of labourers, and
high profits, by occasioning an increase of capital. It will be seen in
a future portion of this Treatise that, if the amount of capital employed
in the paymen_ of wages increases, the number of labourers remaining
the same, profits will fall; and that if the number of labourers
increases, the amount of capital and the productiveness of labour
remaining the same, wages will fall ; and that, if they both increase
m equal proportions, both will have a tendency to fall, in consequence
of the larger proportion which they will each bear to the power of the
natural agents whose services they each require. And although it
may not be easy to fix the maximum of either wages or profits, yet it
may be laid down generally, that in no Coul,try have profits continued
for any consid,._rable period at the average rate of fifty per cent. per
annum, or wages at such a rate as to afford the labourer ten times the
amount necessary for the subsistence of a family.
Adam Smith has laid down, that " the whole of the adt'antages and
disadvantages of tim different employments of labour and capital must,
in the same neighbourhood, be either perfectly equal, or continually
tending to equality. If in the same neighbourhood there was any
employment evidently either more or less advantageous than the rest,
so many people would crowd into it in the one case, and so many
would desert it in the other, that its advantages would soon return to
the level of other employments. This at least would be the case in a
society where things were left to take their natural course, where
there was perfect liberty, and every man was perfectly free both to
choose what occupation he thought proper, and to change it as often
as he thought proper. Every man's interest would pron)pt him to
seek the advantageous and to shun the disadvantageous employment."
Wealth of Nations, Book i. oh. x.
The truth of these remarks of Adam Smith is obvious. It is
obvious also that, in the absence of disturbing causes, the desire of
obtaining a more advantageous field for the employment of his mental
and bodily faculties, which leads a man to move from one part of the
same neighbourhood to another, would lead him from village to village
and from country to country. For commercial purposes, the whole
civilized world is one extended neighbourhood ; and the same eanses
 AVERAGE RATE OF WAGES. 141

which tend to equalize profits in Liverpool and London, tend to equalize

them in London and Calcutta. But when we look into the details, we
are struck by the difference in the remuneration of persons apparently
undergoing equal toils, and exercising equal abstinence. We find a
general exempt from more than half the hardships of a private, and
receiving more than a hundred times his pay. We find barristers
making £10,000 or £15,000 a-year, while a copying clerk is paid
for labour as assiduous and more irksome by only £100. We find
the purchaser of an Exchequer-bill willing to pay a large premium for
the privilege of advancing capital at a profit of three per cent. per
annum, while a shopkeeper thinks himself ill paid by less than twenty
per cent. We find a London banker satisfied with a profit of seven
per cent., while his partner in Calcutta requires fifteen.
Circumstance_ which decide what, at a given time and in a given place,
shall be the average rate of ,Vage_, and the average rate of Profit.-
These differences are partly real and partly apparent. So far as they
are real, they are occasioued partly by the influence of the differet/t
instruments of production, or, in other words, the different sources oi
revenue, on one another ; the influence for instance, of the rate of
profits on the antount of wages, and of the amount of wages on the
rate of profits ; partly by the greater or less severity of the sacrifices
which the labourer and the capitalist must make _n addition to the
undergoing mere toil or abstinence ; and partly by the difficulty with
which capital and labour are transferred from one employment to
another. A difficulty caused partly by physical obstacles and partly
by human habits and institutions. The influence of these causes on
the average rates of wages and of prt,fits in the same Cou.ltrv, in
different employments of labour and capital, we shall e_msider l_ere-
after ; and haviI_g assumed for the purposes of the following discussion
that a certain average rate of" wages and a certain average rate of
profit exists, we shall now endeavour to explain the causes by which
these average rates are deter,_,ined, or, in other words, to explain d_e
circumslances whicl_ decide wh_t_ at a given ti_e a.d in a given place,
shall be the average rate of w(lqes and the average rate qf prqfit. We
have already stated, as one of the principal sources of difficulty in
Political Economy, tl,e mutual dependence of its different propositions.
.A dependence which, as it respects the theory of wages and profits,
is so great that it is impossible to give a complete view of the causes
which affect the one, without adverting to all those which affect the
other. We will endeavour to keep them as distinct as we can, and
we shall begin by wages, as that subject is capable of being separately
considered to the greatest extent.
Mv._os or ThE WORDStlwn A._DLow, As APPLIEDTO "_VAGES.--
We have already defined Wages to be the remuneration received by
the labourer in recompense for having exerted his faculties of mind
and body. They are said to be high or &w, in proportion to the
142 AVERAGE RATE OF WAGES.

extent of that remuneration. That extent has been estimated by

three different measures; and the words high and low wages have,
consequently, been used in three different senses.
First. Wages have been termed high or low, according to the
amount of money earned by the labourer within a given period, without
any reference to the commodities which that money would purchase ;
as when we say that wages have risen in England since the reign of
Henry VII., because the labourer now receives ls. 6d, or 2s. a-day,
and then received only 4 _d.
Secondly. They have been termed high or low, according to the
(luantity and quality of the cor_nodilies obtained by the labourer,
without any reference to his receipts in money ; as when we say that
wages have fallen in England since the reign of Henry VII., because
the labourer then earned two pecks of wheat a-day, and now earns
only one.
Thirdly. They have been termed high or low, according to the
share or proportion which the labourer receives of the produce of his
own laSour, without any reference to the total amount of that produce.
The first nomenclature, that which measures wages simply by their
amount in money, is the popular one. The second, that which
considers wages simply with reference to the quantity and quality
of the commodities received by the labourer, or, to speak more
correctly, purchasable with his money wages, was that generally
adopted by Adam Smith. The third, that which considers wages as
high or low, simply with reference to the labourer's share or propor-
tion of what he produces, was introduced by Mr. Ricardo, and has
been continued by many of his followers.
This last use of the words high and low wages has always appeared
to us one of the most unfortunate of Mr. Ricardo's many innovations
in the language of Political Economy. In the first place, it has a
tendency to withdraw our attention, even when we are considering the
subject of wages, from the facts which most influence the labourer's
condition. To ascertain whether his wages are high or low, we are
desired to inquire, not whether he is ill or well paid,--not whether he
is well or ill fed, or clothed, or lodged, or warmed, but simply what
proportion of what he produces comes to his share. During the last
four or five years many a hand-weaver has received only 8s. 3d. for
producing, by a fortnight's exertion, a web that the capitalist has
sold for 8s. 4d. A coal merchant often pays his men .£2 a-week,
and charges his employers for their services _2 10s. But, according
to hit. Ricardo's nomenclature, the wages of the weaver, at 4s. l_d.
a-week, are much higher than those of the coal-hearer at £2, since
the weaver receives 99 per cent. of the value of his labour, while the
coal-hearer has only 80 per cent.
And, even if the nomenclature in question were free from this
objection, even if the point on which it endeavours to fix the attention
 AVERAGERATE OF WAGES. 143

were the most important, instead of being the least important, incident
to wages, it still would be inconvenient, from its tendency to render
the writer who employs it both inconsistent and obscure. It is almost
impossible to affix to terms of familiar use a perfectly new meaning,
and not from time to time to slide into the old one. When Mr.
Ricardo says that " nothing can affect profits but a rise of wages,"
p. 118 ; that " whatever raises the wages of labour lowers the profits
of stock," p. 231 ; that "bigh wages invariably affect the employer_
of labour by depriving them of a portion of their real profits," p.
129 ; that, "as the wages of labour fall the profits of stock rise,"
p. 499 ; he means by high wages, not a large amount, but a large
"proporti_)n. But when he speaks of tbe" encouragement which high
wages give to the increase of population," pp. 88--3G1, he means by
high wages a large amount. And many of his followers and oppo-
nents have supposed the words high and low to be used by him as
indicative of quantity, not proportion. The consequence has been
that, since the publication of his great Work, an opinion has prevailed
that high wages and high profits are incompatible, and that whatever
is taken from the one is added to the other. The slightest attempt
to try this theory by an actual example will show its absurdity. The
usual supposition is, that the capitalist, at an average, advances the
wages of his labourers for one year, and receives, after deducting
rent, one-tenth of the value of what they produce. We are inclined
to think that in England the average rate of profit is rather greater,
and the average period of advance rather less. After making many
inquiries on these subjects in Manchester, we found the general
opinion to be, that the manufacturing capitalist turns his capital, at
an average, twice in the year. and receives on each operation a profit
of 5 per cent. ; and that the shopkeeper, at an average, turns his
capital four times in a year, and receives on each operation a profit of
about 3_ per cent. On these data the labourer's share would, of course,
be much greater than according to the ordinary estimate. We will
suppose, however, that estimate to be correct, and that, after rent has
been deducted, the labourer receives, on an average, nine-tenths of
the value of what he produces. Under these circumstances a rise in
the amount of wages amounting to one-tenth, or item 10s. to lls.
a-week, if that rise is to be deducted from the capitalist's share, would
utterly destroy all profit whatever. A rise of one-fifth, or from 10s.
to 12a. a-week, would occasion to the capitalist a loss equal to the
whole amount of his former profit. A fall in wages of one-tenth
would double profits ; a fall of one-fifth would treble them. Now we
know that general variations in the amount of wages to the amount
of one-tenth or one-fifth, or to a greater extent, are not of unfrequent
occurrence. Yet who ever heard of their producing such an effect on
profits ?
And yet this doctrine has received the sanction both of theoretic
144 AVERAGE RATE OF _3,L_.GES.

and practical men. Mr. Francis Place is asked by the Committee on

Artisans and Maebinel_', (First Report p. 4(;, '-'4)" Do not the masters
in consequence of a rise of wages raise their prices ._"--" :No," he
answers ; " I believe there is no principle of Political Economy better
established than this of wages; increase of wages must come from
profits."
Did Mr. Place ever apply this doctrine when his men asked for
higher wages on a general mourning'._ Even the Comn-littee appear
to have taken this view of the question. The subject is so important,
that we will _-enture to extract the following passage from the Report
made in the following Session :--
" Those eminent persons who, during the last fifty years, have
reduced the rules that govern the operations of trade and industry to
a Science, undertake to show, by arguments and facts, that the effect
of low wages is not a low price of the commodity to which they are
applied, hut the raising of the average rate of profits in the Country
iu which they exist. The explanation of this proposition occupies a
large portion of' the justly celebrated work of the late Mr. Ricardo, on
the 1)ril_ciples of Political Econ,)my ; and is also ably set forth in the
following evidence cf Mr. M'Culloch, to which your Committee par-
ticularly desire to draw the attention of the IIouse :--
" ' Have you turned your attention to the effect of fluctuations in
the rate of wages on the price of commodities ?'--' I have.'
" ' Do you consider that when wages rise the price of commodities
will proportlonal]y increaee '._'--' I do not think that a real rise of
wages has any effect whatever, or but a very imperceptible one ou
the price of commodities.'
"'Then, supposing wages to be really lower in France than iu
this Country, do you think that that circumstance would give the
French any advantage over us in the foreign" market '--'_No, I do
not ; I do not tMnk it would zive them any advantage whatever. I
think it would occasion a diifercnt distribution of the produce of
industry in France from what would obtain in England, but that
would l)e all. in France the labourers would get a less proportion of
the produce of industry, and the capitalists a larger proportion.'
" ' Could not the French manufacturer, if he gets his labour for
less than the Engli._h mmlufacturer, afford to sell hi_ goods for less ._'
' As the value of goods is made up wholly of labour and profit, the
whole al,d only effect of a FrezJcl_ manufacturer getting his labour for
less than an 'English manufacturer is to enable him to make more
profit than the English manufacturer can make, but not to lower the
price of his goods. The low rate of wages in France goes to establish
a high rate of profits in all branches of industry in France.'
"' What conclusion do you come to in making a comparison

Sessionof 1824.
 AVERAGE tlATE OF WAGES. 145

between wa_es ill England and wages in France. _'-' I come to ti, ls
conclusion, that, if it he true that wages are really hi_her in En_,zlaml
than in France, the only effect of that would be to h)wer the profits of
capital in Eat'land beh)w their level in France, but that will have no
effect whatever on the price of' the commodities produced ill eith_
t°'onntrv. _
'' ' _'tteu yolI Sag that wazes du not ._ffe,..t prices, what is it tha_
does affect priee._ '._;--'An increase or diminution of the quantity of
lab_)ur neces_,ary to the production of the c )mmodity."
" ' Supposing that the_'e was a free expt,rt of machinery, so that
France could _et that m._ehinerv, do you think that under'those cir-
mm_.stances we _hm:ld tel:am tt_ose advantages which we possess a t
the present moment ._'--' Yes, we should; for the export of the
machinery w_,uld nut lower our wa.a'es, or itJcreaee the wages in
France. so that we should preser_'e that advantng,, v.. the full extem
_hat we have it at this moment.'
'_ ' Will you explai:_ to the Committee why you are, of apinion that
,'he Frenet_" manufacturer would not undersell the English, seeing
that his profits are larger than the English manufaeturer_'--' Because
if he were to offer to undersell the English, he can only do it by con-
sentin_ to accept a less rate of profit on his eapltal than the other
French capitalists are making on theirs, and I cannot suppose a mah
of common sense would act upon such a principle.'
" 'Are the Committee to understand, that although a French
manufacturer pays half tile wages to hi_ men in France which our
manufacturers du in England, yet that his wages being on a par, or a
level, in general, with the other wages in France, will render his
profits on a par with them, and consequently he would not undersell
the English merchant by lowering his profits below the average rate
t)f profits in France._'--'Preeisely so. I bellows, in point of fact,
there is no such difference; but he could not undersell the English
manufacturer unless he took lower profits than all other producers in
France were maMng. I might illustrate this by what tak_.s place
every day in Jgngland, where you never find the proprietor of rich
land, in order to get rid of his produce, offering it in )[ark Lane at a
l,)wcr ra:e than that which is got by a farmer or proprictur of the
very worst land in the Kingdom.'
" ' Would it not produce a larger sate if the French manuihcturer
were to sell at a less price ?'--' Supposing that to be so, the greater
the sate the greater would be the loss of profit.' "a,
We have extracted this passage as indicating the views of the
Committee, not those of Mr. M'Oulloeh. 5Iv. 5I'Culloeh, as wilt
appear on turning to his evidence, meant by wages realt,j high al_d
¢'eal!y low, not a larger or a smaller amount, but a larger or a smaller
Report from Select Comlmtteeon Export of Toolsand Machit_'ery.Sessionor
1_25,pp. l;l, 14.
L
]46 AVERAGE RATE OF WAGES.

proportion. But the Committee appear to have understood him to

mean a larger or a smaller amount.
Mr. Bradbury had previously stated the common day wages in
:France to be about half the wages paid in England.
He was asked, " In what way do you consider that lower wages iu
:France give the French manufacturers an advantage over English
manufacturers?"--" I conceive that if they pay 3d. a pound for
spinning to the operative spinner, and we pay 6d., that would give
them an advantage of 3d. a pound in the cost."
" You mean to say that the French would be able to sell the article
they make, in consequence of paying lower wages, cheaper than the
English could sell it ?"--" They could afford it 3d. a pound
cheaper."
" You mean to say that, according to the rate of wages paid, the
price of the article for which they are paid is high or low?"--" It
may be aflbrded higher or lower, I should imagine, as the cost be
more or less."
" Therefore the whole reason and ground on which you think that
low wages give them an advantage is, that low wages contribute to
enable them to sell the article cheaper than if they paid higher
wages ?"--" Yes, labour constituting a material feature in the cost."
" You conceive that increased cost would be a loss to the party, if
the p,'ice was not increased in proportion ?"--" I should imagine so."
"Might not the profit_ of the proprietor be lessened ?"--"YY_ey might
be lessened, whicl_ _s in ('fleet a toss."
" JTight not that enable him to bear the loss wttich the di_'erence of
wages produces ?'" o_ ,,]f ]_echose to make that sacrifice."
" Might not the profits be lessened until there were no profits at
all ?" '-';--" Very easily, I should think."--( Fifth Report of the Select
Committee on Artisans and Machinery, pp. 547, 549, 550.)
It was with reference to this evidence that Mr. M'Culloeh was
examined. His examination commences thus :--
" Have you read the evidence which has been given before this
Committee ?"--" I have read portions of it only."
" ttave you read the evidence given by )_Ir. Bradbury ? "--"A part
of it."
"That part in which he conceives that foreigners have an advantage

-_ In other words, "Might not the loss
enab*c ium to bear the loss._"
_zTnl_ (tuestion appear_ to h_ve come
from a di_'ereut interrogator. In justi,'e
to the ctearand intelligent evidence of_lr,
Bradbury. we should observe that tw _as
far from talhag rote the common error,
that a genera ly high rate of wa_es can bL.
unfavourable to a Country. lIesetout by
supponug that, with the assistance of
Enghsh machinery and Enghsh super-
intendents, the labour of the French
spinners might be as productive as that of
the Engliqh spinners. Under such cir-
cumstauce% if their wages could remain
at one-half of E_ahsh wages, he beheved
that tt_. F_'ench manufacturer coutd
underse]l the English manuib,cturer. Ot
the accuracy of this opinion under the
possible, tbouah highly improbable hypo-
thesi_ in questmn, we e.ntertain no doubt,
thouah, trom the tenour of the questions,
it appears not to have met with the appro-
batten of the Couimittee.
 AVERAGE RATE OF WAGES. 147

over the English manufacturers in consequence of wages being lower

in France ?"--" Yes, I have read that."
And then follows the question :--
" Have you turned your _ttention to the effect of fluctuations in the
rate of wages on the price of commodities?"
Now if the Committee understood Mr. _'i'Culloeh to moan, by high
or low wages, not a great or small amount, but a groat or small pro-
portion, his evidence and that of Mr. Bradbury had nothing in common.
The whole of the confusion has been occasioned by the verbal
ambiguity which we have pointed out, and would not have arisen if
Mr. Rieardo had used any other adjectives than hirjll and /ow to
express a larger or smaller proportion.
The two other meanings of the words high and low wages, that
which refers to the money, and that which refers to the commodities,
reeeL'ed by the labourer, are both equally convenient, if we consider
the rate of wages at the same time azM ]_lace; for then they both mean
the same thing. At the same time and place the labourer who
receives the highest wages necessarily obtains the most commodities.
But when we refer to different places, or different times, the words
high or low wages direct the attention to very different subjects, as
we understaud them to mean more or less in money, or more or less
in commodities. The differences which have taken place in the
amount of money wages at different times inform us of scarcely any
thing hut the abundance or scarcity of the precious metals at those
times: facts which are seldom of much importance. The differences
in the amount of money wages in different places at the same time are
of much more importance, since they indicate the different _'alues of
the labour of different Countries in the general market of the world.
But even these differences afford no premises from which the positive
condition of the labouring classes, in an)" Country, can be inferred,
and but imperfect grounds for estimating their relative condition. The
only data which enable us to ascertain the actual situation of the
labourers at an), given time and place, or their comparative situation at
different times and places, are the quantity and quality of the com-
modities which form their wages, if paid in kind_ or are purchasable
with their wages, if paid in money. And as the actual or comparative
situation of the labourer is the principal object of the tollowing
inquiry, we shall use the word wages to express, not the money, but
the commodities, which the labourer receives; and we shall consider
wages to rise as the quanti U or quality of those commodities is
increased or improved, and to fall as that q,lantity or quality is
diminished or deteriorated.
It is obvious, too, that the labourer's situation does not depend on
the amount which he receives at any one time, but on his average
receipts during a given period--durlng a week, a month, or a year ;
and that the longer the period taken, the more accurate will be the
] 45 AVERAGE RATE OF WAGES.

estimate. Weekly wages have, of course, more tendency to equality

_han daily ones, and annual than monthly ; and, if we could ascertain
the amount earned by a man during five, or ten, or twenty years, we
should know his situation better than if we confined our attention to
a single year. There is, however, so much difficult 3"in ascertainin_
the amount of waa'es during very long periods, that a single year will
probably be the l)e¢t that we can take. it comprehends what, in
most climates, arc very dlfferent--summer and winter wages; it
comprehends also the period during wifich the most import'mr vege-
table productions come to matm'ity in temperate climates, and on that
account has generally beeu adopted by Pohtieal Economists as the
average period for which capital is supposed to be advanced.
We should observe that we include, as part ef the wa_'es of t; _,
married labourer, those of his wife and unemancipated children. T.
omit them would lead to inaccurate estimates of the comparative
situation of the labourers in different Countries, or in dA_'erent occupa-
tions. In those employments which are carried on under shelter, and
with the assistance of that machinery which aflbrds power, and
requires human aid only for its direction, the industry of a woman, or a
child, approaches in efficiency that of a fu]l-grow;_ man. A girl of
fourteen can manage a power-loom nearly as well as her father ; but
where strength, or exposure to the seasons, is required, little can hc
done by tile wife, or the girls, or even by the boys, until they approach
the age at which they usually quit their father's house. The e'trning,-
of the wife and children of many a Manchester weaver or spinner
exceed, or equal, those of himself. ThoCe of the wife and children of
an agricultural labourer, or of a carpenter, or a coalheaver, are
generally unimportant--while the husbands, in each case, receive
15s. a-week, the weekly income of the one family may be 40s., and
that of the other only ];Ts. m" t5s.
It must be admitted, however, that the workman (lees not retain
the whole of this apparent pecuniary advantage. The wife is taken
from her household labours, and a part of the increased wages is
employed in purchasing what might, otherwise, be produced at home.
The evils to the children arc still greater. The infants suffer from
the want of maternal attention, and those who are older from fatigue
and confinement, fl'om the want of childish relaxation and amusement,
and, what is far more important, from the deficiency of religious,
moral, and intellectual education. The establishment of infant and
Sunday schools, and laws regulating the number of hours during
which children may labour, are palhatix'es of these evils, but they
must exist, to a certain degree, whenever the labour of the wife and
children is the subject of sale ; and though not, all of them, perhaps,
strictly within the province of Political Economy, must never be
omitted in any estimate of the causes affecting the welfare of the
labouring classes.
 AMOUXT OF WAGES AND PRICE OF LABOUR. ] 4_}

Dilfer_ti¢_, bctxveon _he__n_onn! of 't_'age_ anti the" Price of Labonr.--

Ttle last preliminary point to which we have to call the reader's

attention is, the difference between the A_J_cml_t of Waqcs and the
Price el'Labor, r. or, in other words, between the earnings of a labourer
during a given time, and the price paid for the performance of a givezJ
,luantity of work.
If men were the only labourers, and if every man worked equally
bard, and for the same number of hours, during the year, these two
expressious would be synonymous. If each man, for instance, worked
three lmndred days during each year, and ten hours durb_g each day,
one three-thousandth par_ of each man's ye,_rly wa_es would be the
price of an hour's labour. But neither of these propositions is true.
]'he yearly wages of a family often include, as we have seen, the
results of the labour of the wife and children. And few things ar(.
less uniform than the number of working days durit_g the year, or o,+'
working hours during the day, or the degree of exertion undergone
during these hours.
The established annual holidays in Protestant Countries are betweelt
fifty and sixty, hi many Cathohc Countries they exceed one hundred.
Among the Hindoos they are said to ocenpy nearly half the year. But
these holidays are confined to a certain portion of the population ; the
labour of a sailor, or a soldier, or a menial servant, admits of scarcely
any distinction of days.
Again, in Northern aml Southern latitudes, tbe hours of out-door
labour are limited by the duration of light ; and in all climates hv the
weather. When tbe labourer works under sheher, the daily hours of"
labour may be uniform throughout tbe year. And, inde!)endently of
natural causes, the daily hours of labour vary in different Countries.
and iu different_ employ_n_.nts in the same Country. The daily hours
of labour are, perhaps, longer in France than in E_gland, and certainly
are longer in England than in ltindostan. In Maiichester the manu-
facturer generally works twelve hours a-day ; in Birmingham, ten : a
London shopman is seldom employed more than eight or nine.
There is still more discrepancy between the exertions made by
different Inborn'ors in a given period. They are often, indeed, unsus-
ceptible of comparison. There is no common measure of the toils
undergone by a miner and a tailor, or of those of a shopman and an
iron-founder. And labour which is the same in kind may vary inde-
finitely both in intensity and in productiveness. Many of the witnesses
examined by the Committee on Artisans and 5Iachinery (Session of
t824,) were English mannfacturers, who had worked in France.
They agree as to the comparative iudolenee and ine_ciency of the
French labourer, even during his hours of employment. One of the
witnesses, Adam Young, had been two years in one of the best manu-
factories in Alsace. He is asked, "Did you find the spinners there
as industrious as the spinners in England?" and replies, "No; a
]_0 AMOUNT OF WAGES AND PRICE OF LABOUF,.

spinner in England will do twice as much as a Frenchman. They get

up at four in the morning, and work till ten at night ; but our spinners
will do as much in six hours as they will in ten."
" Had you any Frenchmen employed under you ?"--" Yes ; eight
at two frauc_ a day."
" What had you a day ?"--" Tweh-e francs."
'" Supposing you had had eight English c_rders under you, how
much more work could you have done _."--" With one Englishman I
could have done more than I did with those e;ght Frenchmen. It can-
not be called work they do: it is only looking at it, and wishing it done."
" Do the French make their yarn at a greater expense ?"--" Yes ;
though they have their hands for much less wages than in England."
--Pp. 580, 582.
The following evidence of Edwin Rose, given on the Factory
Inquiry of 1833, relates to a rather later period, and is valuable from
the extensive experience cf the witness.
" Are wages lower in France, as far as you have seen, than in
England ?"--" If I have a shop of men in England for any thing,
then I have to see how much I have to pay them for the work they
turn cut of any kind ; but if I have the same shop in France, then I
must have twice the number of hands to do the same amount of work.
It is true I pay them less a-piece there; but I have seen that you
must have twice as large a building to contain the hands, twice as
many clerks and book-keepers, and overlookers to look after them,
and twice as many tools to do the same quantity of work as is done
here in England; and the master there must have twice as much
interest of money on all this; and their nfinds seem to me to get
more bewildered with stress of work there than here. It seems to
me that you have double the number of people there to do the same
amount of work, whatever it be; but their wages are lower in
money."
" But do you consider their wages higher in reality ?"--" I really
do; they are better paid in proportion to the work they turn out than
what the English are."
" What do you think of French workmen, as workmen ?"--"I
don't think they have that perseverance that English have. I often
have noticed them trying a thing, and then, if it don't answer at first,
they seem terrified, and shrug up their shoulders, and throw it aside;
but an English workman keeps trying and trying, and won't give up
near so soon as the Frenchman. A house-joiner or carpenter's wages
are from thirty-five to forty sous a day. His work compared with
English work is very rough, and but little of it in comparison. A
stonemason's wages are from three francs to four francs. They are
inferior to our masons in laying foundations. Then, as to time of
work, I think two English masons in the same time do more work
on an average than three of theirs."
 AMOU_NTOF WAGES AND PRICE OF LABOUR. 151

" In short, do you know any single species of labour that stands
a master cheaper in France than in England, quality and quantity of
work being considered ?"_" I don't know any, unless it be tailors'
and shoemakers' wages ; and I am not sure about them. Clothes are
dearer in France than in England ; but shoes are cheaper, tbe dutybeing
off leather."--First Re]_ort of tl_e Factory Commission, D. i. p. 121.
Even in the same Country, and in the same employments, similar
inequalities are constantly observed. Every one is aware that much
more exertion is undergone by the labourer by task-work than by the
day-labourer ; by the independent day-labourer than by the pauper;
and even by the pauper than by the convict.
It is obvious that the rate of wages is less likely to be uniform than
the price of labour, as the amount of wages will be affected, in the
first place, by any variations in the price, and in the second place, by
any variations in the amount, of the labour exerted.
In England, the average annual wages of labour are three times
as high as they are in Ireland ; but as the labourer in Ireland is said
not to do more than one-third of what is done by the labourer in
England, the price of labour may, in both Countries, be about equal.
In England, the labourer by task-work earns much more than the
day-labourer ; but, as it is certainly as profitable to employ him, the
price of his labour cannot be higher. It may be supposed, indeed,
that the price of labour is every where, and at all times, the same ;
and, if there were no disturbing causes,--if all persons knew perfectly
well their own interest, and strictly followed it, and there were no
difficulties in moving capital and labour from place to place, and from
employment to employment,--the price of labour, at the same time,
would be every where the same. But these difficulties occasion the
price of labour to vary materially, even at the same time and place ;
and variations both in the amount of wages and in the price of labonr,
at different times and in different places, are occasioned not only by
these causes, but by others which will be considered in a subsequent
part of this Treatise.
These variations affect very differently the labourer and his em-
ployer. The employer is interested in keeping down the price of
labour ; but while that price remains the same, while at a given
expense he gets a _ven amount of work done, his situation remains
unaltered. If a farmer can get a field trenched for .El2, it is indif-
ferent to him whether he pays the whole of that sum to three capital
workmen, or to four ordinary ones. The three would receive higher
wages than the four, but, as they would do proportionably more work,
their labour would come just as cheap. If the three could be hired at
£8 108. a-piece, while the four required £3 a-piece, though the wages of
tile three would be higher, the price of the work done by them would
be lower.
It is true that the causes which raise the amount of the labourer's
 ]'50 A:',IOUNTOF WAGESAND PP,ICE OF LABOUI:.

waTes often raise the rate of the capitalist's profits. If, by increased
industry, one m,_n performs the work of two, beth the amoun*_ of
wages and the rate of protits will _encrally be raised. But tile rate
of profit will be raised, not by the ri,e of wages, but in consequence
of the additional supply o["labom" having diminished its price, or
having diminished the period for wb.ich it had previously been neces-
sary to advance that price, or having rendered, as in'the instances
mentioned by Edwin Rose, the labour previously employed more pro-
ductive.
Tile lahourer, on the other hand, is principally interested in the
am,rant of wages. The amount of bls wages being fixed, it is cer-
tainly his interest that the price of l;i- labour should be high, for on
that depends the degree of exertion impe_ed on him. But, if the
amount of his wages be low, he mnst be comparativel_- poor--if that
amount be high he must be comparatively rich--whatever be his
remuneration for each specific act of exertion. In the one case he
will have leisure and want: in the other toil and abundance. We are
far from thinking that tlle evils of severe and incessant labour, or the
benefits of a certain degree of leisure, ought to be ]eft out in an)"
estimate of happiness. But, as we observed in the beginning ,_" thl.
Treatise, it is not with happiness, but xGth _eatth, that we a_e con-
cerned as Political Economists; we profess to state facts ft, r the
information and inqtruction of the stndent, not to lay down rules to
guide the conduct of the legislator. In explaining tile general laws
according to which wealth is produced ahd distributed, we do not
assume that all the mean_ bv which it can be auzmented ought to be
encouraged, or even _o be permitted. We do not assume even that
wealth is a benefit. In fact, however, wealth and happiness are very
seldom opposed. _Xature, when she imposed on man the necessity of
l_bour, tempered his repugnance to it by making long-continued
i.mctivity painful, and by strongly associatin_ with exertion the idea
of its reward. The poor and half employed Irish labourer, or the
still poorer and less industrious savage, is as inferior in happiness as
he is in income to the hard-worked Engl;sh artisan. The English-
man's industry may sometimes be exeesdve ; his des!re to better his
condition may sometimes drive him on toils productive of disease ill
recompensed by the increase of his wages ; but that such is not gene-
rally the case may be proved by comparing the present duration of
life'in England with its former duration, or with its duration in other
Countries. It is generally admitted that, during the last fifty years,
marked increase has taken place in the industry of our population,
and that they are now the hardest-working labourers in the world.
But during the whole of that period the average duration of their
lives has been constantly increasing, and appears still to increase;
and, notwithstanding the apparent unheahhiness of many of thei
occupations, notwithstanding the atmosphere of smoke and steam
 I'P.OXIMATECAUSE DECIDING THE RATE t)F WAGV% 15_

and. what appears to be still more h_jurious, of dust, in wtfieh many

,,f them labour for sixty-nine hours a week, they enjoy, as a com-
munity, longer hfe than the lightly-toiled inhabitants of the most
favoured soils and climates.
The average annual mortality in England and Wales is computed
by Mr. Rickman at one in forty-nine. In the extensive inquiry
instituted by the Poor-Law Commissioners in t534 into the state (_f
the labouring classes in America and the Continent of E,.'ror, e, the
,rely Countries in which the mortality appeared to be so small as in
England. were Norway, in which it appeared to be one in fifty-four,
_,,i,l the Basses I'yrenees, in which it appeared to be one in fifty. In
all the other Countries which gave returns it exceeded the English
proportion sometimes by doubling it, and in the majority of instances
by more than one-fourth. ""
Having marked the distinction which really exists between the
price of labour and the amount of wa_'es, we shall for the future
consider every labeurina" family as consisting of the same number of
persons, and exerting the same degree of industry. 0u that supposi-
tion, the distinction between the price of labour and the amount of
wages will be at an end; or rather, the only distinction _il] be, that
the former expresAon designates the reumneratiou for each s[,eeifi(.
exertion; the latter, the ag_'rezate of all those separate remunerations,
as summed up at the end of each year. And the question to be
answered will be, what are tt_e causes which decide what in any given
Country, and at any given period, sh'dl be the qnantitv_ and qualky of
the commodities obtained by a labouring family durina" a year ._

PROXIMATE CAUSE DECIDING "lIll._ I_,ATE OF WAt,ES.

The proximate cause appears to be clear. The quantky and quality

of the commodities obtained by each labouring family durin_" a year
must depend on the quantity and quality of the commodities_directly
or indirectly appropriated during the year to the use of the labouring
population, compared with the number of labouring families, tine]uding
under that term all those who depend on their own labour for subsis-
tence;) or, to speak more concisely, on the .E.r!ent qf the _F'totclfor t]_c
maintenance of Labourers, compared with tl,e _mber of Labourers t_,
be nTaintained.

Discussion of _vcn Opinions itlt'on*i*lcnt with It|lis ]Propo*_gio|l.--

This proposition is so nearly self-evident, that if Political Economy

were a, new Science we shouid assume it without farther remark. 13ut
we must warn our readers that this proposition is inconsistent with
opinions which are entitled to consideration, some from the number,
and others from the authority, of those who maintain them.

Senior, Preface to Foreiqn Communications, p. _ks.

154 WAGES.

First. It is inconsistent with the doctrine, that tl_e Rate of Wages

depends solely on the proportion which the number of Labourers bears
to the amount of Capital in a Country. The word capital has been
used in so many senses that it is difficult to state this doctrine precisely;
but we know of no definition of that term which will not include many
things that are not used by the labouring classes ; and if our proposi-
tion be correct, no increase or diminution of these things can directly
affect wages. If half the plate glass in the Country were to be
destroyed to-morrow the capital of the Country would be diminished ;
but the only sufferers would be those who possess or wish to possess
plate glass; among whom the labouring classes are not included.
But if half the existing stock of coarse tobacco were destroyed, the
immediate consequence would be a fall of wages; not as estimated in
money, but as estimated in the commodities consumed by the labourer.
Though receiving the same money wagc_, the labourer would have less
tobacco, or, if he chose to continue undiminished his consumption of
tobacco, then less of other things, than he had before. So ira foreign
merchant were to come to settle in this Country, and bring with him
a cargo of raw and manufactured silk, lace, and diamonds, that cargo
would increase the capital of the Country; silk, lace, and diamonds
would become more abundant, and the enjoyments of those who use
them would be increased: the enjoyments of the labourers, supposing
them not to be consumers of silk, lace, or diamonds, would not be
directly increased: indirectly and consequentially, they might be
increased. The silk might be re-exported in a manufactured state,
and commodities for the use of labourers imported in return; and then,
and not tiil then, wages would rise: but that rise would be occasioned,
not by the first addition to the capital of the Country, which was made
in the form of silk, but by the substituted addition made in the form
of commodities used by the labourer.
Secondly. It is inconsistent with ti_e doctrine, that Wages depend
on the proportion borne by the number of Labourers to the whole revenue
of the society of which they are members. In the example last sug-
gested, of the introduction of a new supply of lace or diamonds, the
revenues of those who use lace or diamonds would be increased; but
as wages are not spent on those articles, they would remain unaltered.
It is possible, indeed, to state cases in which the revenue of a large
portion of a community might be increased, and yet the wages of the
labourers might fall without an increase of their numbers. We will
suppose the principal trade of Ireland to be the raising of produce for the
English market; and that for every two hundred acres ten families
were employed in raising, on half the land, their own subsistence, and
on the remainder corn and other exportable crops requiring equal
labour. Under such circumstances, if a demand should arise inthe
English market for cattle, butchers'-meat, and wool, instead of corn,
it would be the interest of the Irish landlords and farmers to convert
 ABSENTEE_M. ]56

their estates from arable into pasture. Instead of ten families for
every two hundred acres, two might be sufficient : one to raise the
subsistence of the two, and the other to tend the cattle and sheep.
The revenue of the landlords and the farmers would be increased :
and, if they employed the whale of that increase in the purchase of
Irish labour, all parties would he benefited. But if they devoted the
greater part of it to the purchase of English manufactures, the services
of a large portion of the Irish labourers would cease to be required ;
a large portion of the land formerly employed in producing commodities
for their use would be devoted to the production of commodities for
the use of England ; and the fund for the maintenance of Irish labour
would fall, notwithstanding the increase of the revenue of the landlords
and farmers.
lb_meei_m.--Thirdly. It is incon¢istent with the prevalent opinion
that the non-rez'idence of landlords, fun(ted t_'oprictor._, mortgagees,
and other unprodtlctive consvmer_¢_ca_ be detrimental to the labourin_
inhabilants era Country which does not export raw prod_ce.
In a Country which expoTts raw produce, wages may be lowered by
such non-residence. If an Irish landlord resides on his estate, he
• requires the services of certain persons, who must also be resident
there, to minister to his daily wants. He nmst have servants, gar-
deners, and perhaps gamekeepers. If he build a house, he must
employ resident masons and carpenters ; part of his furniture he may
import, but the greater part of it must be made in his neighbourhood :
a portion of his land, or, what comes to the same thing, a portion of
his rent, must he employed in producing food, clothing, and shelter
for all these persons, and for those who produce that food, clothing,
and shelter. If he were to remove to England, all these wants would
be supplied by Englishmen. The land and capital which was formerly
employed in providing the maintenance of Irish labourers would be
employed in producing corn and cattle to be exported to England to
provide the subsistence of English labourers. The whole quantity of
commodities appropriated to the use of Irish labourers would be dimin-
ished, and that appropriated to the use of English labourers increased,
and wages would, consequently, rise in England, and fall in Ireland.
It is true that these effects would not be co-extensive with the land-
lord's income. While, in Ireland, he must have consumed many
foreign commodities, he must have purchased tea, wine, and sugar,
and other things which the climate and the manufactures of Ireland
do not afford, and he must have paid for them bv sending c-rn and
eatde to England. It is true, also, that while in 'Ireland he probably
employed a portion of his land and of his rents for other purposes,
from which the labouring population received no benefit, as a deer park,
or a pleasure garden, or in the maintenance of horses or hounds. On
his removal, that portion of his land which was a park would be
employed, t)art]y in producing exportable commodities, and partly in
] 5(; EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEIS)I.

producing subslstenee for its eulti',ators ; al_tl that portion which fed
horses fur his u,e ni[gl,t be employed ill fee(li_,g horses for exportation.
The first of tht_-se alterations would do flood ; the second could do no
harm. Nor nmst we forget that, through the cheapness of conveyance
between Ena'land and Irehmd, a portion or perhaps all, of those whom
he employe,-I in Ireland might follow him to England, and, in that ease,
wages in neither Country wouhl be affected. The fuml for the main-
tenanee of labourers in ireland, and the number of labourers to be
maintained, would both be equally diminished, and the %nd for the
maintenance of labourers in Et@and. and tile number of labourers to
be maintained, would both be equally increased.
But after making all these deductions, and they are very great, from
the supposed effect of the absenteeism of the Irish proprietors on the
labouring classes in Ireland, we cannot agree with 3Ir. )i'Culloeh that
it is immaterial. We cannot but jt_in in the general opinion that their
return, though it would not affect the prosperity of the British Empire,
considered as a whole, would be immediately benellcial to Ireland,
though perhaps too much importance is attached to it.
In Nr. M'Culloch's celebrated examination b,.f,_,'e tl_e Comm;ttee
on the state of Ireland, (4th Report, S14:, Sess. lb25,) he was asked,
" Supposing the largest export of Ireland were in live cattle, am', that
a considerable portion of reltt had been remitted in that mannel; does
not such a mode of producing the means of paying rent contnbute less
to the improvement of the poor than any extensive employment of
them in la!mu," would produce ._"--IIe replies, " Unless the means of
paying rent are changed when tile landlord goes home, his residence
can have no effect whatever."
"' Would not," he is a._ked, " the population of the country be
benefited by. the expenditure among them of a certain portion of the
rent which (if he had been absent) has (wouldhave) been remitted
(to England) !" No, he replies. " I do not see how it could be
benefited in tile least. If you have a certain value laid out ag'ainst
Irish commodities in the one case, you will have a certain value laid
out against them in the other. The cattle are either exported to
:England, or they stay at home. If they are exported, the landlord
will obtain an equivalent for them in English commodities ; if they are
not, he will obtain an equivalent for them in Irish commo&ties ; so
that in both cases the landlord lives on the cattle, or o_ the value of
the cattle : and whether he lives in Ireland or in England, there is
obviously just the very same amount of commodities for the people of
Ireland to subsist upon."
This reasoning assumes that the landlord, while resident in Ireland,
himself personally devours all the cattle produced on his estates ; for
on no other supposition can there be ttte very same amount of com-
modities for the people of Ireland to subsist upon, whether their eat_le
are retained in Ireland or exported. /
 EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM. 157

But when a Country does not export raw produce, the consequences
of absenteeism are very different. Those who derive their incomes
fl'om such a Country cannot possibly spend them abroad until they
have previously spent them at home.
When a Leicestershire landlord is resident on his estate, he emplo_ s
a certain portion of his land, or, what is the same, of his rent, in
maintaining the persons who provide for him those commodities and
services, which must be produced on the spot where the 3' arc consumed.
If he should remove to L_,ndon, he would want the services of Lon-
doners, and the produce of ]aiJd "rodcapital which previously maintained
labourers resident in Leicester would be sent away to maintain
labourers resident in London. Tile ],Lbourers would 1,robably follow.
and wages in Leicestershire and Lot.don would t],en he unaltered ; but
until they did so, wages would rise in the one district and fall in the
other. At the same time, as the rise and fall would compensate one
another, as the fund fur tlle mainteuance of h:bour, and the number
c,f labourers to be maint_ined, wouhl each remain the same, the same
amount of wages would he distributed among the same number of
persons, though not precis_,]y ia the same proportion am before.
If he were now to remove to Paris, a new distribu:ion must take
place. As the price of raw produce is lower in France than in
England, and the difference in habits and language between the two
Countries prevents the transfer of labourers from the one to the other,
nciflmr the labourers nor the protluec of his estates could follow him.
IIe must employ French labourers, and he must convert his share of
the produce of his estate, or, what is the sauJe thing, his rent, into
some exportable form il__,rder to receive it abroad. It may be supposed
that he would receive his r, ut in mor_ev. Even if he were to do so,
the English labourers would not_be inj_red, fl_r as the'," do not eat or
drink money, provided the same amount of comm,,,!ities remained for
their use, they would be unaffected by the export of money. But it
is impossible that he could receive his rent in money unless he chose
to suffer a gratuitous loss. The rate of exchange between London
and Paris is generally rather in favour of Londo: b and scarcely ever
so deviates front par between any two Countries, as to cover the
expense of transferring the precious metals from the one to the other,
excepting between the Countries which do, and those which do not,
possess mines. The remittam.es fi'om England to France must be
sent, therefore, in the form of manufactures, either directly to France,
or to some Country with which France has commercial relations.
And how would these manufactures be obtained ._ Of course in
exchange for the landlord's rent. His share of the produce of his
estates would now go to Birmingham or Sheifield, or Manchester or
London, to maintain the labourers employed in producing manufactures,
to be sent and sold abroad for his profit. .An English absentee
employs his income precisely as if he were to remain at home and
]58 MORAL EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM.

consume nothing but hardware and cottons. Instead of the services

of gardcncrs and servants, upholsterers and tailors, he purchases those
of spinners, and weavers, and cutlers. In either case his income is
employed in maintaining labourers, though the class of labourers is
different ; and in either case, the whole fund for the maintenance of
labourers, and the number of labourers to be maintained, remaining
unaltered, the wages of labour cannot be affected.
Bat, in fact, that fund would be rather increased in quantity and
rather improved in quality. It would be increased, because land
previously employed as a park, or in feeding dogs and horses, or
hares and pheasants, would now be employed in producing food or
clothing for men. It would be improved, because the increased
production of manufactured commodities would occasion an increased
division of labour, the use of more and better machinery, and the
other improvements which we have ascertained to be its necessary
accompaniments.
One disadvantage, and one only, it appears to us would be the
result. The absentee in a great measure escapes domestic taxation.
We say in a great measure, because he still remains liable, if a pro-
prietor of houses or of land, to those taxes which fall upon rent : he
pays too, a part of the taxes on the materials of manufactures ; and
if it were our policy to tax income or exported commodities, he might
be forced to pay to the public revenue even more than his former
proportion. But, under our present system, which throws the bulk
of taxation on commodities produced for internal consumption, he
receives the greater part of his revenue without deduction, and,
instead of contributing to the support of the British Government,
contributes to support that of France or Italy. This inconvenience,
perhaps, about balances the advantages which we have just mentioned,
and leaees a community which exports only manufactures neither
impoverished nor enriched by the residence abroad of its unproductive
members.
We ought, perhaps, on this occasion again to remind our readers
that it is to wealth and poverty that our attention, when writing on
Political Economy, is confined. The moral effects of absenteeism
must never be neglected by a writer who inquires into the causes
which promote the ha2_plness of nations, but are without the province
of a Political Economist. Nor do we regret that they are so, for they
form a subject on which it is far more difficult to obtain satisfactory
results, in one respect, indeed, the moral question is the more
simple, as it is not complicated by the consideration whether raw
produce or manufactures are exported, or whether the non-resident
landlord is abroad, or in some town within his own Country. If his
presence is to be morally beneficial, it must be his presence on his
own estate. To the inhabitants of that estate the place to which he
absents himself is indifferent. Adam Smith believed his residence to
 I_IORALEFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM. ]59

be morally injurious. "The residence of a court," tie observes,

(book ii. ch. iii.) "in general makes the inferior sort of people
dissolute and poor. The inhabitants of a large village, after having
made considerable progress in manufactures, have become idle in
consequence of a great Lord having taken up his residence in their
neighbourhood." And Mr. M'Culloch, whose fidelity and intelligence
as an observer may be relnd on, states, as the result of his own
experience, that in Scotland the estates of absentees are ahnost
ahvays the best managed. Much, of course, depends on individual
character ; but we are il,clined to believe that, in general, the presence
of men of large fortune is morally detrimental, and that of men of
moderate f._,rtuae morally beneflcial] to their immediate neighbourhood.
The habits of expense and indulgence which, in different gradations,
prevail among all the members of a great establishment, are ntis-
chievous as examples, and perhaps still more so as sources of repining
and discontent. The drawing-room and stable do harm to the neigh-
bouring gentry, and the housekeeper's room and servant's hall to
their inferiors. But families of moderate income, including under
that term incomes between £;300 and £2000 a year, appear to be
placed in the station most favourable to the acquisition of moral and
intellectual excellence, and in its diffusion among their associates and
dependents. We have no doubt that a well-regulated gentleman's
family, removing the prejudices, soothing the quarrels, directing and
stimulating the exertions, and awarding praise or blame to the conduct
of the villagers round them, is among the most efficient means by
which the character of a neighbourhood can be improved. It is the
happiness of this Country that ahnost every parish has a resident
fitted by fortune and education for these services; and bound, not
merely by feelings of propriety, but as a matter of express and pro-
fessional duty, to their performance. The dispersion throughout the
Country of so manj_"thousand clerical families, each aetiu_o in its own
district as a small centre of civilization, is an advantage to which,
perhaps, we have been too long accustomed to be able to appreciate
_ts extent.
Still, however, we think that even the moral effects of absenteeism
have been exaggerated. Those who declaim against the twelve
thousand English families supposed to be resident abroad, seem to
forget that not one-half, probably not one-quarter, of them, if they
wero to return, would dwell an)-where but in towns, where their
influence would be wasted, or probably not even exerted. What does
it signify to the Norttmmbrian or Devonshire peasant whether his
landlord'lives in London, or Chehenham, or Rome ._ And even of
those who would reside in the country, how many would exercise that
influeneo beneficially ? How many would be tox-hunters or game-
preservers, or surround themselves with dependents whose exampl_
would more than compe_,sate for the virtues of their masters ?
160 ECONOMICALEFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM.

Nothing can be more rash than to predict that good would be the
result of causes which are quite as capable of producing evil.
The economical effects have been still more generally misunder-
stood ; and we have often been tempted to wonder that doctrines so
clear as those which we have just been submitting to our readers
should be admi;ted with reluctance even by those who feel the proofs
to be unanswerable, and should be rejected at once by others, as
involving a paradox too monstrous to be worth examination.
5%eh of this, proi,ahly, arises from a confusion of the economical
with the moral part oe the questien. 31any writers and readers
of Political Eeon,),ny furzet that the clearest proof that absenteeism
diminisims the v_rtue or the happiness of' tim remaining members (,f a
,:ommunity is no answer to arguments which aim only at proving that
it does not diminish their wealfl_.
Another and perhal,s the chief source of error is the circumstance
:hat, when the landlord is present, the gain is concentrated, and the
loss diffused, when he is absent the gain is diffused, and the loss
concemrated. When he quits his estate, we can put our finger on
the village tradesman and labourer who lose his custom and employ-
ment. We cannot trace the increase of custom and employment
that is consequently scattered among millions of manufacturers.
When he returns, we see that the expenditure of £200_) or 2;3000 a
year in a small circle gives wealth amt spirit to its inhabitants. We
do not see. however clearly we may infer it, that so much the tess is
expended in Manchester. Birmingham, or Leeds. The inhabitants
of his village attribute their gain and their loss to its causes; and
their complaints and acknowledgments are loud in proportion to the
degree in which they feel their interests to be affected. No single
manufacturer is conscious that the average annual export of more
than forty n.illions sterling has been increased or diminished to the
amount of £2000 or £3000. And even if aware of that increase or
diminution, he would not attribute it to the residence in Yorkshire or
Paris of a given indMdual, of whose existence he probably is not
aware. When to obvious and palpable effects nothing is to be
opposed but inferences deduced by a long, though perfectly demon-
strative, reasoning process, no one can doubt which will prevail, both
with the uneducated, and the educated, vulgar.
Many persons, also, are perplexed by the consideration, that all the
commodities which are exported as remittances of the absentee's
income are exports for which no return is obtained ; that they are as
much lost to this Country as if they were a tribute paid to a foreign
State, or even as if they were thrown periodically into the sea. This
is unquestionably true; but it must be recollected, that whatever is
unproduetively consumed is, by the very terms of the proposition,
destreyed, without producing any return. The only difference
between the two cases is, that the resident landlord performs that
 EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM. 161

destruction here; the absentee performs it abroad. In either case,

he first purchases the services of those who produce the things which
he, for his benefit, not for theirs, is to consume. If he stays
here, he pays a man to brush a coat, or clean a pair of boots, or
arrange a table ; all which in an hour after are in their former condi-
tion. When abroad, he pays an equal sum for the production of
needles, or calicoes, which are sent abroad, and equally consumed
without further benefit to those who produced them. They are, in
fact, sold for money to he employed in paying the wages of those
foreign servants who now brush the shoes and draw the corks, which,
if the laudlord had not been an absentee, would have been brushed
and drawn in England. The income of unproductive consumers,
however paid, is a tribute; and whether they enjoy it here or else-
where, is their own concern. We know that a man cannot eat his
cake and have it; and it is equally true that he cannot sell a cake to
another and keep it for himself.
Again, some acute reasoners appear to us to have been led into
error on this subject, by perceiving that the income of an absentee is
generally remitted to him by means of a trade in which the returns
are comparatively slow, _ and that the expenditure of his income is
profitable to those among whom he resides, s° Now assuming that
these circumstances occasion a loss to any body, it is clear that the
loss falls solely on the absentee. His rents are, in the first instance,
expended as quickly as they are received in the purchase of manu-
factured commodities, to be exported for his benefit as a means of
remittance. They are expended, therefore, in the support of the
trade of the English manufacturer, a trade giving quick returns, high
wages, and, if we may judge from the additional capital which it is
attracting every day, high profits. The absentee, in thus spending
his income, gives to England all that an unproductive consumer
can give, the wages and the profits arising from the expenditure in
England of his income as fast as he receives it. Neither the gaiu
nor the loss attending on the remittance or on the subsequent expen-
diture of its amount are shy concern of ours. They affect only the
absentee. If he selects ill the place of his residence, he may have
to lose by remittances at long dates, or at an unfavourable exchange,
or have to pay dearly for bad commodities or unskilful services. If
he selects it well, he may be a gainer by the intermediate operations
to which his income has been subjected, and receive a larger revenue
than he would have obtained at home, or may spend that revenue
more agreeably. But with all this England has nothing to do.
The last cause to which we attribute the slow progress of correct

_9ProfessorLong'field,Lecl_reson Commerceand Absen[eaism,

p. 6.
3oCareyon tFa_esp. 46. A _Vorkwhich weregret not tohave received until part
oft t_sTreatiseha_ibeenstereotyped,and the remainderwasin print.
M
 1(;2 WAGES..

opinions on this subject is their distastefulness to the most influential

members of the community. Nothing can he more flattering to
landlords, annuitants, mortgagees, and fundholders, than to be told
that their residence is of vital importance to the Couutry. Nothing
can be more humiliating than to be assured that it is utterly immate-
rial to the rest of the community whether they live in Brighton, or
London, or Paris. Those who are aware how much our judgment,
even in matters of Science, is influenced by our wishes, will not be
surprised at the prejudices against a doctrine which forbids the bulk
of the educated class to believe that they are benefactors to their
Country by the mere act of residing withil(its shores.
We may appear, perhaps, to have dwelt too much on a single
subject; but no prevalent error can be effectually exposed until its
prevalence has been accounted for. And these are errors which are
to be heard in every society, and often from those whose general
views in Political Economy are correct. They may be called harm-
less errors, but no errror is, ill fact, harmless ; and when there is so
much in our habits that really requires alteration, we may lose sight
of the real and the remediable causes of evil, while our attention is
misdirected to absenteeism.
_ad_it_e_.--Fourthly. Our proposition that the Rate of Wages
depends on the extent of the fund for the maintenance of labourers,
compared with the number of labourers to be maintained, is incon-
sistent with the doctrine that the general rate of wages can, except in
two cases, be diminidted by the irdroduction of Machinery.
The two cases m which the introduction of Machinery can produce
such an effect are, first, when labour is employed in the construction
of machinery, which labour would otherwise have been employed in
the production of commodities for the use of labourers ; and, secondly,
when the machine itself consumes commodities which would otherwise
have been consumed by labourers, and that to a greater extent than it
produces them.
The :first case is put by Mr. Ricardo, in his chapter on machinery ;
but in so detailed a form, that, instead of quoting it_ we will extract
its substance, with a slight variation of the terms. He supposes a
capitalist to carry on the business of a manufacturer of commodities
fur the use of labourers; or, to use a more concise expression, the
business of a manufacturer of wages. He supposes him to have been
in the habit of commencing every year with a capital consisting of
wages for a certain number of labourers, which we call twenty-six,
and of employing that capital in hiring twenty men, to reproduce,
during the year, wages for the whole twenty-six, and six to produce
commodities for himself. He now supposes him to employ ten of his
men during a year in producing, not wages, but a machine, which.
with the aid of seven men to keep it in repair and work it, will
produce every year wages for thirteen men; that is wages for six
 EFFECTS OF MACHINERY. 163

men besides the seven that work it. At the end of the year the
capitalist's situation would be unaltered: he would have wages for
thirteen men, the produce of the labour of his other ten men during
the year ; and his machine, also the produce of the labour of ten men
during the year, and therefore of equal value. And his situation
would continue unaltered. Every year his machine would produce
wages for thirteen men, of whom seven must be employed in repair-
ing and working it, and six might, as before, be employed for the
benefit of the capitalist. But we have seen that, during the year in
which the machins was constructed, only ten men were employed in
producing wages instead of twenty, and, consequently, that wages
were produced for only thirteen men instead of for twenty-six. At
the end of that year, therefore, the fund for the maintenance of
labour was diminished, and wages must, consequently, have fallen.
It is of great importance to recollect, that the only reason for this
fall was the diminution of the annual production. The twenty men
produced wage_ for twenty-six men, the machine produces wages for
only thirteen. The vulgar error on this subject supposes the evil to
arise, not from its true cause, the expense of constructing the machine,
but from the productive powers of that machine. So far is this front
being true, that those productive powers are the specific benefit which
is to be set against the evil of its expensiveness. If, instead of wages
for thirteen men, the machine could produce wages for thirty, its use,
as soon as it came into operation, would have increased instead of
diminishing the fund for the maintenance of labour. The same effect
would have been produced, if the machine could have been obtained
without expense ; or if the capitalist, instead of building it out of his
capital, had built it out of his profits ; if, instead of withdrawing ten
men for a year from the production of wages, he had employed in its
construction, during two years, five of the men whom he is supposed
to have employed in producing commodities for his own use. In either
case, the additional produce obtained from the machine would have
been an additional fund for the maintenance of labour; and wages
must, according to our elementary proposition, have risen.
We have thought it necessary to state this possible evil as a part
of the theory of machinery, but we are far from attaching any practi-
cal importance to it. We do not believe that there exists upon record
a single instance in which the whole annual produce has been dimin-
ished by the use of inanimate machinery. Partly in consequence of
the expense of constructing the greater part of machinery being
defrayed out of profits or rent, and partly in consequence of the great
proportion which the productive powers of machinery bear to the
expense of its construction, its use is uniformly accompanied by an
enormous increase of production. The annual consumption of cotton
wool in this Country, before the introduction of the spinning-jenny,
did not exceed twelve hundred thousand pounds; it now amounts to
164 WAGES.

two hundred and forty millions. The number of copies of books

extant at any one period before the invention of the printing-press
was probably smaller than that which is now produced in a single
day. Mr. Rieardo's proposition, therefore, (Princ. 474,) that the
use of machinery frequently diminishes the quantity of the gross pro-
duce of a Country, is erroneous, so far as it depends on the case
which he has supposed, and of which we have stated the substance.
The other exception, that where the machine itself consumes com-
modities which would otherwise have been consumed by labourers,
and that to a greater extent than it produces them, applies only
to the case of horses and working-cattle, which may be termed
animated machines. We will suppose a farmer to employ on his
farm twenty men, who produce annually their own subsistence, and
that of six other men producing commodities for the use of their
master. If five horses, consuming we will say, as much as eight
men, could do the work of ten men, it would be worth the farmer's
while to substitute them for eight of his men, as he would be able
to increase the number of persons who work for his own benefit from
six to eight. But after deducting the subsistence of the horses, the
fund for the maintenance of labourers would he reduced from wages
for twenty-six men to wages for eighteen. We cannot refuse to admit
that such cases may exist, or to deplore the misery that must accom-
pany them. They are, in fact, now occurring in Ireland, and are
occasioning much of the distress of that Country. They seem, indeed,
to be the natural accompaniments of a certain period in the progress
of national improvement. In the early stages of society, the rank
and even the safety of the landed proprietor is principally determined
by the number of his dependents. The best mode of increasing that
number is to allow the land, which he does not occupy as his own
demesne, to be subdivided into small tenements, each cultivated by
one family, and just sufficient for their support. Such tenants can of
course pay little rent, but they are enabled by their abundant leisure.
and forced by their absolute dependence, to swell the retinue, and aid
the political influence, of their landlord in peace, and to follow his
bannuer in public and private war. Cameron of Lochiel, whose rental
did not exceed £500 a year, carried with him into the rebellion of
1745, eight hundred men raised from his own tenantry. But in the
progress of civilization, as wealth becomes the principal means of dis-
tinction and influence, landowners prefer rent to dependents. To obtain
rent, that process of cultivation must be employed which will give, not
absolutely the greatest amount of produce, but the greatest afmr
deducting the expenses. For this purpose a tract of five hundred
acres, from which fifty families produced their own subsistence, and
produced scarcely any thing more, may be converted into one farm, and
with the labour of ten families, and as many horses, may produce the
subsistence of only thirty families. Fortunately, however, the period
 EFFECTS OF MACHINERY. ]65

at which these alterations take place is generally one of great social

improvement ; so that, after a short interval, the increased diligence and
skill with which labour is applied occasion an increase of the produce,
after deducting the new expenditure. The fund for the maintenance of
labourers now becomes increased from two different sources--partly
from the increased efficiency of human labour when aided by that of
horses and cattle, and partly from the results of a part of the human
labour set free by the substitution of brutes. The ultimate conse-
quences of such a change are always beneficial; the change itself
must, in general, be accompanied by distress.
But with the exception of these two cases, one of which produces
only temporary effects, and the other, though apparently possible,
seems never actually to occur, it appears clear that the use of machinery
must either raise the general rate of wages, or leave it unaltered.
When machinery is applied to the production of commodities which
are not intended, directly or indirectly, for the use of labourers, it
occasions no alteration in the general rate of wages;we say the
genera/ rate of wages, because it may diminish the rate of wages in
some employments,--a diminution always compensated by a corre-
sponding increase in some others. A small screw was shown to us
at Birmingham which, in the manufacture of corkscrews, performed
the work of fifty-nine men; with its assistance one man could cut a
spiral groove in as many corkscrew shanks as sixty men could have
cut in the same time with the tools previously in use. As the use of
corkscrews is limited, it is not probable that the demand for them
has sufficiently increased to enable the whole number of labourers
previously employed in their manufacture to remain so employed after
such an increase in their productive power. Some of the corkscrew-
makers, therefore, must have been thrown out of work, and the rate
of wages in that trade probably fell. But as the whole fund for the
maintenance of labourers, and the whole number of labourers to be
maintained, remained unaltered, that fall must have been balanced by
a rise somewhere else--a rise which we may trace to its proximate
cause, by recollecting that the fall in the price of corkscrews must
have left every purchaser of a corkscrew a fund for the purchase of
labour, rather larger than he would have possessed if he had paid the
former price.
If, however, machinery be applied to the production of any com-
modity used by the labouring population, the general rate of wages
will r_e. That it cannot fall is clear, on the grounds which we have
just stated. If the improvement be great, and the commodity not
sub'ect_
_j to a correspondin__o increase of demand., some of the labourers
formerly employed in its production will be thrown out of employment,
and wages, in that trade, will fall---a fall which, as the whole fund
for the-maintenance of labour is not diminished, must be met by a
corresponding rise in some other trade. But the fund w/Ll be/ncreased
166 WAGES.

by the additional quantity produced of the commodity to which the

improvement has been applied: estimated in that commodity, there-
fore, the general rate of wages, or, in other words, the quantity of
commodities obtained by the labouring population, will be increased
by the introduction of machinery; estimated in all others, it will be
stationary.
The example taken from the manufacture of corkscrews is as
unfavourable to the effects of machinery as can be proposed; for the
use of the commodity is snpposed to be unable to keep up with the
increased power of production, and the whole number of labourers
employed on it is, consequently, diminished. This, however, is a
very rare occurrence. The usual effect of an increase in the facility
of producing a commodity is so to increase its consumption as to
occasion the employment of more, not less, labour than before.
We have already called the reader's attention to the effects of
machinery in the manufacture of cotton and in printing. Each of
these trades probably employs ten times as many labourers as it
would have employed if spinning-jennies and types had not been
invented. Under such circumstances, (and they are the usual ones,)
the benefits of machinery are not alloyed by even partial inconvenience.
The,so who are little affected by inferences from general propositions
may be influenced by a witness who states the results of his own
observations. We will support our argument, therefore, by the
following extract from ]_Ir. Cowell's valuable preface to the Tables of
Wages constructed by him in the performance of his duties as a
Commissioner on the Factory Inquiry:-
"As long as the cotton-working continues to extend, the appre-
hensions entertained by the operatives of a fall in wages, either for
adults or children, consequent upon improvements in machinery, are
groundless. Their assertion is, (and it was repeated to me innumerable
times,) that they have to turn out more work now for less wages than
formerly. The _lIanc]tester and Salford Advertiser, which is the
journal of the operatives, scarcely publishes a number which does not
ring the changes on this assertion; and in that for the 11th of January,
1834, it asserts, ' that a spinner now turns out double the work for a
tenth less wages than in 1804.'
"The matter stands thus: in 1804 a spinner was paid 8s. 6d. for
every pound of yarn of the fineness of two hundred hanks to the
p.ound, spinning on a mule of the average productive power of that
nine. What that productive power was I do not know. But in 1829
he was paid at the rate of 4s. ld. for spinning the same quality on a
mule of the productive power of three hundred and twelve ; in 1831,
and at present, at the rate of 2s. 5d. and 2s. $_d. for spinning the
same quality on s mule of the productive power of six hundred and
forty-eight. These quotations are from the Manchester prices.
"Thus, in 1829, the spinner turned off three hundred and twelve
 EFFECTS OF MACHINER_ ]67

pounds of yarn in the same time that he now tal_es to turn off six
hundred and forty eight. He was paid at the rate of 4s. ld. per
pound in 1829, he is now paid at the rate of 2s. 5d. But three
hundred and twelve pounds at 4s. ld. amount to one thousand two
hundred and seventy-four shillings, and six hundred and forty-eight
pounds at 2s. 5d. to one thousand five hundred and sixty-six shillings.
He receives, therefore, two hundred and ninety-two shillings more
than he did in ]829 for equal times of work. It is perfectly true
that he does ' more work for less wages than in 1S29 ;' but this is
nothing to the purpose, when the proposition to be proved is, that
'wages are lower than formerly? I mean to say, that a spinner
earns a shilling, or a pound, or a hundred pounds, in less time at
present than he would have consumed in earning a shilling, or a
pound, or a hundred pounds, ten years ago, and with the same or less
labour; that this enhancement of his earnings has been owing to
improvements in machinery ; that the progress of improvements will
progressively advance his earnings still higher, and at the same time
enable a greater number of individuals to profit by the enhanced
rate than actually profits by the actual rate ; (provided that nothing
occurs to prevent the cotton business from developing itself for the
next thirty years as it has done for the last ;) and that any i_,._prove-
ment in the machinery in any one of the numerous depart.merits of
cotton-working will operate to enhance the rate of wages in all other
br._uches, as well as in that department in whictl it takes place, by
increasing the actual previous demand for labour in those other
branches. I assert that every improvement of cotton machinery, in
any department of cotton-working, has hitherto had the effect of
enabling 'an operative' (speaking in general of every one, in every
department whatever) to earn a greater net amount of money, in any
given time, than he would have done if the improvements had never
taken place.
" The misconceptions as to the real effect of machinery on the
wages of labour which the operatives entertain are the causes of turn-
outs and strikes; they produce rankling discontent towards their
masters, and I regret that I have not had the opportunity of giving
them a fuller exposure.
" I certainly consider it of great consequence that the operatives
themselves should be satisfied that improvements in machinery tend
to raise the amount of money that they gain individually and generally,
for the same number of hours' work. Those who dispute the fact
must, I think, admit that I have established it in the cases which I
have selected, as far as spinners are concerned ; and as they must
likewise admit that the improvement specified creates a fresh and
additional demand for young hands, they must also admit that the
wages of young hands are augmented in consequence. They must
e(lual__lyadmit, that as the price of the article will be lowered in the
168 WAGES.

market from the effects of the improvement, more of it will be con-

sumed ; and hence that, in all the correlate processes connected with
spinning of cotton, more hands will be required, and consequently that
wages throughout the whole range of cotton-working will be better
than they were before. If these considerations should induce opera-
fives to hesitate before they combine and turn out against new
machinery, before they again cabal for shortening the hours of work,
in order to counteract the (fancied) injurious effect upon wages of
improvements in machinery, and should lead them to neglect the
advice of those who urge them ' to strike for eight hours' work and
twelve hours' earnings,' (and this is the advice they have lately
received,) my purpose will be answered.
" The generality of the operatives in cotton-working are well-
meaning, respectable, shrewd, and sensible ; and I believe that if the
real effect of machinery in augmenting the actual rate of their earnings,
and in enabling a greater number of persons to benefit by the aug-
mented rate, could be fairly set before them and rendered familiar
to their minds, it would have a most beneficial effect upon their actions
as members of society."--Factory fnquiry Commission, 2d Report,
D. I. l19. u. m.
Fifthly. Closely connected with this mistake, and occasioned by
the same habit of attending only to what is temporary and partial,
and neglecting what is permanent and general ; of dwelling on the
evil that is concentrated, and being insensible to the benefit that is
diffused, is the common error of supposing that the general rate of
wages can be reduced by the importation of foreign commod'_ies. In
fact, the opening of a new market is precisely analogous to the intro-
duction of a new machine, except that it is a machine which it costs
nothing to construct or to keep up. If the foreign commodity be
not consumed by the labouring population, its introduction leaves the
general rate of wages unaffected ; if it be used by them, their wages
are raised as estimated in that commodity. If the laws which favour
the wines of the Cape to the exclusion of those of France were
repealed, more labourers would be employed in producing commodities
for the French market, and fewer for that of the Cape, Wages
might temporarily fall in the one trade, and rise in the other. The
clear benefit would be derived by the drinkers of wine, who, at the
same expense, would obtain more or better wine. So if what are
called the protecting duties on French silks were removed, fewer
labourers would be employed in the direct production of silk, and
more in its indirect production, by the production of the cottons or
hardware with which it would be purchased. The wearers of silk
would be the only class ultimately benefited ; and as the labouring
population neither wear silk nor drink wine, the general rate of wages
would, in both eases, remain unaltered. But if the laws which pro-
hibit our obtaining on the most advantageous terms _ugar and corn,
 EFFECTS OF UNPRODUCTIVECONSUMPTION. 169

were altered, that portion of the fund for the maintenance of labour,
which consists of corn and sugar, would ibe increased. And the
general rate of wages, as estimated in two of the most important
articles of food, would be raised.
Sixthly. The views which we have been endeavouring to explain
arc inconsistent with the common opinion, that t]w unproductive con,.
sumptio_ of landlords and capitalists is beneficial to the labouring
classes, because it furnishes them v_h employment. " Tillage," says
Paley, (and this is another form of the same fallacy,) " is preferable
to pasturage, not only because the provision which it yields goes
much further in the sustentation of life, but because it affords employ-
merit to a more numerous peasantry." The production of more sub-
sistence is certainly an advantage, but what is the advantage of its
requiring more labour ? If this be an advantage, the fertility of land
is an evil. If the thing required be employment, we should abandon
ploughs and even spades. To scratch up a rood with the fingers
would give more employment than to dig an acre. Those who main-
tain that unproductive consumption does good by affording employ-
ment, must forget that it is not employment, but food, clothing,
shelter, and fuel, in short, the materials of subsistence and comfort,
that the labouring classes require. The word "employment" is
merely a concise form of designating toil, trouble, exposure, and
fatigue. It is indeed sometimes elliptically used as implying the
subsistence which is purchased by enduring it. A poor man com-
plains that he wants wovtz. He might work to his heart's content,
and with no man's leave, if he chose to carry stones from the bottom
to the top of a hill. But what he wants is work as a means of
obtaining payment. He would be happy to get the payment without
the work. Toil, exposure, and fatigue, per se, are evils, and the less
of them that is required for obtaining a given amount of subsistence
and comfort, or, in other words, the greater the facility of obtaining
that given amount, the better, ccelerzsparibus, will be the condition
of the labouring classes; indeed, of all classes in the community.
What occasions the prosperity of a colony ? Not the dearness of
subsistence, but its cheapness; not the diflleulty of obtaining food,
clothing, shelter, and fuel, hut the facility. _ow how can unproduc-
tive consumption increase this facility ? How can the fund from which
all are to be maintained be augmented by the destruction of a portion
of it ? If the higher orders were to return to the customs of a
century ago, and cover their coats with gold lace, they might enjoy
their own finery; but how would that benefit their inferiors ? The
theory which we are considering replies that they would be benefited
by being employed in making the lace. It is true that a coat, instead
of costing £5, would cost £55. But what becomes now of the extra
_50 ? for it cannot be said that, because it is not spent on a laced
coat, it does not exist. If a landlord with £10,000 a-year spends it
170 WAGES.

unproductively, he pays it away to those who furnish the embellish-

ments of his house and grounds, and supply his stable, his equipage,
and his clothes. Suppose him now to abandon all unproductive
expenditure, to confine himself to bare necessaries, and to earn them
by his own labour, the first consequence would be, that those among
whom he previously spent his £10,000 a-year would lose him as an
employer; and beyond this the theory in question sees nothing. But
what would he do with the £10,000 which he would still annually
receive ? _o one supposes that he would lock it up in a box. or bury
it in his garden. Whether productively or unproduetively, it still
must be spent. If spent by himself, as by the supposition it would
be spent productively', it must increase, and every year still further
increase, the whole fund applicable to the use of the rest of the com-
munity. If not spent by himself, it must be lent, as is done by a
miser of the present day, to some other person, and by that person it
must be spent productively or unproductively. Ite might, perhaps,
buy with it property in the English funds ; but what becomes of it iu
the hands of the persian who sells to him that funded property ? He
might buy with it French rentes ; but in what form would the price
of those rentes go to Paris ?--In the form, as we have seen, of manu-
faetured commodities. (2_dcunque rid datS, every man must spend
his income ; and the less he spends on himself, the more remains for
the rest of the world.
P_ference of _ervicea to Commod|ties._The seventh and last
theory inconsistent with our own views, to which we shall call the
reader's attention, is that proposed by l_Ir. Ricardo in the following
passage :--
" The labouring class have no small interest in the manner in which
the net income of the Country is expended, although it should, in all
cases, be expended for the gratification and enjoyment of those who
are fairly entitled to it.
" If a landlord, or a capitalist, expends his revenue in the manner
of an ancient Baron, in the support of a great number of retainers or
menial servants, he will give employment to much more labour thau
if he expended it on fine clothes or costly furniture.
" In both cases the net revenue would be the same, and so would be
the gross revenue, but the former would be realized in different com-
modities. If my revenue were £10,000, the same quantity nearly of
productive labour would be employed, whether I realized it in fine
clothes and costly furniture, &c. &e., or in a quantity of food and
clothing of the same value. If, however, I realized my revenue in
the first set of commodities, no more labour would be consequently
employed: I should enjoy my furniture and my clothes, and there
would be an end of them; but if I realised my revenue in food and
clothing, and my desire was to employ menial servants, all those
whom I could so employ with my revenue of £10,000, or with the
 PREFERENCE OF SERVICES TO COMMODITIES. ] 71

food and clothing which it would purchase, would be to be added to

the former demand for labourers, and this addition would take place
only because I chose this mode of expending my revenue. As the
labourers, then, are interested in the demand for labour, they must
naturally desire that as much as possible should be diverted fi'om
expenditure on luxuries, to be expended in the support of menial
servants.
" In the same manner a Country engaged in war, and which is
under the necessity of maintaining large fleets and armies, employs a
great many more men than will be employed when the war terminates,
and the annual expenses which it brings with it cease.
"If I were not ealled upon for a tax of £500 during the war,
which is expended on men in the situations of soldiers and sailors,
I might probably spend that portion of my income on furniture, clothes,
books, &c. &c., and whether it was expended in the one way or the
other, there would be the same quantity of labour employed in pro-
duction ; for the food and clothing of the soldier and sailor would
require the same amount of industry to produce them as the more
luxurious commodities : but, in the case of war, there would be the
additional demand for men as soldiers and sailors ; and, conscquently,
a war which is supported out of tile revenue, and not from the capital
of a Country, is favourable to an increase of population.
" At the termination of the war, when part of my revenue reverts
to me, and is employed as before in the purchase of _ine, furniture,
or other luxuries, the population which it before supported, and which
the war called into existence, will become redundant, and by itb effect
on the rest of the population, and its competition with it for employ-
ment, will sink the value of wages, and very materially deteriorate
the condition of the labouring classes." _
_ir. Ricardo's theory is, that it is more beneficial to the labouring
classes to be employed in the production of services than in the pro-
duction of commodities; that it is better for them to be employed in
_tanding behind chairs than in making chairs; as soldiers or sailors
than as manufacturers. :Now, as it is etear that the whole quantity
of eommodities provided for the use of labourers is not increased by
the conversion of an artisan into a footman or a soldier, either Mr.
Ricardo must be wrong, or our elementary proposition is false.
Mr. Rieardo seems to have been led to his conclusions by observing
that the wages of servants, sailors, and soldiers, are principally paid
in kind_those of artisans in money. He correctly states, that if a
man with :£10_000 a-year spends his income in the purchase of com-
modities for his own use, he retains, after having made those pur-
chases_ no further fund for the maintenance of labour; but that if he
spends it in the purchase of commodities to be employed in main-

Pr/_)_ea, _'c.,p. 475.

172 WAGES.

raining menial servants, he has, in those purchased commodities, a

new fund with which he can maintain a certain number of menial
servants. It appeared to him, therefore, that the landlord would,
in the latter case, be able to spend his income twice over; to subsist
twice as many persons as before. It did not occur to him that the
landlord, by purchasing himself the subsistence of his servants,
merely does for them what they would be able to do better for
themselves; that, instead of spending his own income twice over,
he merely takes on himself the business of spending theirs for them.
He did not perceive that all that the landlord spends ia purchasing
the subsistence and clothing of his servants, is so much deducted
from what he would otherwise have to pay to them in money, to be
by them employed in the purchase of subsistence and clothing ; and
that if he were to give to his servants the value of their whole sub-
sistence in money, the whole body of labourers would be just as well
maintained as in the supposed case of his purchasing their subsistence,
and then giving it to them in exchange for their services. 1_'o one
would maintain that, if it were the general practice, in this Country,
as it is in India, to give to servants board wages, the demand for
labour would be lessened ; or that if it were the practice, as it is in
semi-barbarous Countries, to maintain servants to produce within their
masters' walls the commodities which we 8re accustomed to purchase
from shops, such as the fine clothes and furniture to which l_lr.
Ricardo alludes, the demand for labour would be increased. Still
less could it be maintained, that if those servants, instead of producing
commodities, were employed in following their master's person, or
mounting guard before his door, such a change would create an
additional demand for men, and be favourable to an increase of popu-
lation.
So far are we from concurring in Mr. Ricardo's opinion, that it is
the interest of the labourers that revenue should be spent rather on
services than on commodities, that we believe their interest to be
precisely opposite. In the first place, the labourer can generally
manage better his own income than it can be managed for him by his
master. If a domestic servant could earn as wages the whole sum
which he costs his master, even if he were to spend it as he received
it, he would probably spend it with more enjoyment. Secondly, the
income spent on services is generally spent in the purchase of what
perishes at the instant of its creation ; that spent on commodities often
leaves results which, when their first purchaser has done with them,
are serviceable to others. In this Country the poor are, to a great
extent, clothed with garments originally provided for their superiors.
In all the better class of cottages may he found articles of furniture
which never could have been made for their present possessors. A
large portion of the commodities which now contribute to the comfort
of the labouring classes would never have existed if it had been the
 PREFERENCE OF SERVICES TO COMMODITIES. 173

fashion inthisCountry,duringthe lastfifty years,topreferretinue

and attendanceto durablecommodities. And, thirdly, theincome
employedon commodities isfavourable tothecreation ofbothmaterial
aml immaterial capital ; thatemployedonservices isnot. The_duties
of a servantare soeasily learned, thathe can scarcely be termeda
skilled labourer ; hisaccumulations aresmallin amount,and seldom
turnedtomuch advantage. The artisan learnsa trade,inwhich every
yearaddstohisskill, and istaughtmechanical andchemicalprocesses,
oftensusceptible of indefinite improvement,and in which a single
invention may raisetheauthortowealth,and diffuse prosperity over
a whole district, or even a wholenation. An industrious artisancan
oftensavea largeportion of hisincome,and investitwith greatand
immediateprofit.He purchases withhissavings a smallstockoftools
and materials, and,by thevigilance and activitywhich can be applied
onlyto a small capital, renderseveryportionof it e_cient. The
ancestors, and notthe remote ancestors, of some of our richestand
ourproudest families, theauthorsofsome ofourmostvaluable discov-
eries, were common mechanics. What menialservanthas in this
Country, and inmodern times,beena public benefactor, orevenraised
himself to affluence ? Both history and observation show that those
Countries in which expenditure is chiefly employed in the purchase of
services are poor, and those in which it is chiefly employed on commo-
dities are rich.
]_ir. Ricardo's theory as to the effects of war is still more strikingly
erroneous. It is, in tile first place, open to all the objections which
we have already opposed to his views respecting menial servants. The
revenue which is employed in maintaining soldiers and sailors would,
even if unproductively consumed, maintain at least an equal number
of servants and artisans ; and that portion of it which would have been
employed in the maintenance of artisans would (as we have seen) have
been far more beneficially employed. The demand for soldiers and
sailors is not. as he terms it, an additional, it is merely a substhuted,
demand. :But a great part of that revenue would have been produc-
tively consumed. Instead of employing some Tabourers in converting
suburbs into fortifications, and forests into navies, to perish by dry
rot in harbour, or by exposure at sea, and others in walking the deck
and parading on the rampart, it would have employed them in adding
more and more every year to the fund from which their subsistence is
derived. War is mischievous to ever)- class in the community ; but
to none is it such a curse as to the labourers.

C_usEs oN winch TI_EEXTENT OFT_E F_D FOR rile MALW_ENA_'C_

OF LA_OU_ DErSNDS.

We have now explained the principal errors which are inconsistent

with our elementary proposition, namely, that/_e qua_tity and _uality
 ] 74 CAUSES OF THE PRODUCTIVENESS OF LABOUR.

of the commodities obtained by eae_ labourinj family during the _tear

must depend on the quantit U and quality of the commodities direettp or
iadirectlg appropviaged during the _jear to the use of the Iabourin(l
population, compared with the number of labouriny families, or, to
speak more conciselg, on the extent of the fund for the maintenance of
labourers, compared with the number of labourers to be maintained.

On what, then, does the extent of that fund depend ? In the first
place, on the productiveness of labour in the direct or indirect produc-
tion of the commodities used by the labourer ; and, in the second place,
on the number of persons directly or indirectly employed in the pro-
duction of things for the use of labourers, compared with the whole
number of labouring families. If we wished to ascertain the compar-
ative wages of the labouring population ia two parishes, containing
each, we will say, twenty-four labouring families, these are the only
two points to which we need direct our inquiries. If we found that
in the one parish eighteen families, and in the other only twelve, were
employed in producing commodities for the whole twenty-four, we
should infer that, supposing the labour of each to be equally productive,
wages must be higher by one-fourth in the first than in the second.
:But if we found that in the second parish labour was more producti_o
by one-half than in the first, we should infer an equality of wages in
ti_e two.

Causes which affect Productivene_ of labonr.--V_C will begin by

considering the causes which affect tt_e productiveness of labour in the
direct or indirect production of the commodities used by the labourer.
We add the word indirect, not with reference to the whole fund which
supplies the maintenance of all the labourers throughout the world,
but with reference to the fund which supplies the wants of the labourers
in a particular Country. If we consider the whole world as forming
one community, it is obvious that the fund for the subsistence of the
labouring portion of that community cannot be increased by the
increased production of those commodities which they do not use ; by
the increased production, for instance, oFlace or statues.
:But the fund for the maintenance of the labourers in any given
Country may be, and often is, materially dependent on the facility
with which they can produce cgmmodities useless to themselves except
as the instruments of exchange. The tea, the tobacco, and the sugar
used by our labouring population are principally obtained in return
for exported commodities unfitted for our climate and our habits. But
the superior facility with which we produce those exported commodities
enables, or, if legislative interference did not prevent it, would enable,
our labouring population to obtain tea, sugar, and tobacco with less
labour than they cost in the Countries of which they are the natural
growth. It is unimportant to the labourer whether his corn is the
 CAUSES OF THE PRODUCTIVENESS OF LABOUR. ]75

produce of the soil of Englandor of Poland ; whether it is obtained

directly by means of the plough, or indirectly by means of the loom.
On what then does the first of these two causes, namely, the
productiveness of labour, depend ?
First. It depends partly on the co_laoreal, intellectual, and moral
qualities of the labourer; on his diligence, his skill, and his strength
of body and mind. And these depend on causes, many of which are
imperfectly understood, and others are too complicated to admit of
concise explanation, or to be fu!}y considered without entering into
investigations connected indeed with _Political Economy, but not with-
in its peculiar province. Much may depend on race and on climate ;
much. more depends on religion, education, and government. One
cause only we shall slightly dwell on, because it is simple, and has
not been sufficiently considered by any writers except M. Quetelet, *'_
and Sir _. D'Ivernois, _ and that is, the mean age of the labouring
population. This depends partly on the average duration of life in a
Country, and partly on the rate at which its population is increasing.
In England, the average duration of life is supposed to amount to
about forty-four years. In many Countries it does not reach thirty-
five; in some it does not attain twenty-five. Again, in some Countries
the population doubles every twenty-five years. At the present rate
of increase in England it would double in about fifty. The aver._ve
period of its doubhng throughout Europe is supposed to be about a
century.
Now it is obvious that, the number of persons and the rate of incrense
in any two Countries being given, that Country would have the greater
numl_er of adults in which the average duration of life was the longer;
and, the longevity being given, that Country would have the greater
proportion of adults in which the rate of increase was the slower.
Longevity, and a population stationary or slowly increasing, are there-
fore favourable to the productiveness of labour.
Secondly. The corporeal, intellectual, and moral qualities of the
labourer being given, the productiveness of labour in any Country will
partly depend on the natural agents by which it is assisted, or, in other
words, on the climate, soil, situation, and extent in proportion to its
population, of that Country.
To some Countries nature has refused the means of supporting
human life; to others she has refused the means of wealth. :No
exertions would enable a community to exist long on Melville Island,
or in the Deserts of Africa, or to exist comfortably in Greenland or
Nova Zembla. But, though she can deny riches, she cannot give them.
The finest districts in the world are among the poorest. With all the
brute and inanimate sources of affiuenc_ profusely scattered before
them, the inhabitants of the greater part of Africa, America, and
_ Sur l' Horame.Tome I. p. 324.
$$Sur ta .llorlJtdg Prod,or!_o_,c:_c,
c_'c.
]76 TItE MERCAI_'TILETHEORY.

Asia want the moral and intellectual qualities by which the raw
materials of wealth are to be worked up. :Even the Icelanders seem
to be richer than the Guachos. But, although local advantages are
far from being the most efficient causes of the productiveness of labour,
their influence must not be disregarded. They have enabled the
colonies of highly civilized nations to advance to opulence with a
rapidity of which we have no other example.
Thirdly. The productiveness of labour partly depends on the degree
in which ,it is assisted by abstinence, or, to use a more familiar expres-
sion, by the use of cap#al.
We have already explained the advantages afforded by capital, and
traced them to the use of implements and the division of labour, and
need only remind our readers that, of all means by which labour can
be rendered productive, the use of capital is far the most efficient.
Without tools, and without the division of employments, man would
be an animal less capable of obtaining enjoyment, or even subsistence,
than the brutes of the field.
.Fourthly. The last of the causes which influence the productiveness
of labour is the existence o_ the absence of government interfereT_ce.
The essential business of government is to afford defence; to
protect the community against foreign and domestic violence and
fraud. Unfortunately, however, governments have generally supposed
it to be their duty, not merely to give security but wealth ; not merely
to enable their subjects to produce and enjoy in safety, but to teach
them what to produce and ]ww to enjoy ; to give them instruction how
to manage their own concerns, and to force them to obey that instruc-
tion.
Unfortunately, too, the ignorance and folly w_th which they have
attempted to execute this office have been equal to the ignorance and
folly which led them to undertake it. Partly under the influence of
what has been called the Mercantile Theory, the theory which teaches
that wealth consists of ,told and silver, and may be indefinitely increased
by exporting commodities, and receiving only money in return ; and
partly misled by the circumstance, that when an individual, or a class,
,,htains a monopoly against the public, the loss, however great, becomes
imperceptible from its diffusion, and the gain, however trifling, is
obvious, because it is concentrated, it has long been the ruling principle
of commercial statesmen to favour direct at the expense of indirect
production ; to refuse participation in the benefits bestowed by nature
on foreign Countries, though at the expense of surrendering a portion
of what she has conferred on their own ; and to force the industry of
their subjects from those channels in which they have peculiar advan-
tages, into those for which their climate, their habits, and their soil
are inappropriate.
It is under the influence of these causes that the civilized world has
lately exhibited the strange spectacle of general peace accompanied by
 ANTI-COMMERCIALSYSTEM. 177

general distress. During the War, the greater part of Southenl

Europe had coalesced into one vast Empire ; a single Sovereign ruled
from Hamburgh to Rome ; and hundreds of lines of custom-houses
and revenue-o_eers, that had previously interposed against commerce
harriers more impassable than seas or mountains, were swept away.
Napoleon was deeply steeped in the mercantile theory, and his conduct
shows how completely his views were founded on unreflecting prejudice.
In obedience to that theory, he believed free trade between independent
States to be like gambling between individuals, and therefore mis-
chievous to the one or to the other : mischievous in fact to the one
which, in the ultimate settling of aceounts, had to pay a balance in
money. While France and Italy were under different rulers, he there-
fore must have believed that the inhabitants of one of the two Countries
would be injured by being allowed to purchase the commodities of the
other. But the framers of the mercantile theory, blind as they were,
bad never ventured to object to the freest intercourse between the
inhabitants of eontiguous districts in the same Empire. When he
had forced under his yoke Belgium and Franee, he allowed them
therefore a freedom o( intercourse which he still prohibited between
France and Austrm ; totally forgetting that the benefit of an exchange
does not depend on the aeeident, whether the parties to it are, or are
not, fellow-subjects. His theories were servile copies of errors
unhappily too prevalent, and faded away before his strong common
sense, on the slightest variation of appearances, though the facts on
which the question turns were unaltered.
On the termination of the War, Napoleon's Empire was broken up
into independent Kingdoms, and each State set to work to reimpose
on itself the fetters which his powerflll hand had broken. Douaniers
and preventive-service men were found instruments as eflicient in
wasting the resources of their own Country, and in arresting the
improvement of their neighbours', as armies and fleets. The produce
of France became contraband in Belgium and Italy, and the produce
of Belgium and Italy in France. America solemnized the Peace by
a tariff, and England by a corn law. To prohibit whatever is wanted
became again the rule in commercial policy. Russia is an agricultural
Country: she therefore forbad the import of foreign manufactures.
England is abundantly supplied with manufactures: she therefore
prohibited corn.
We are inclined to think that the conduct of Russia was practically
more mischievous than that of England. Sbe has adhered to the
anti-commercial system with far more pertinacity than we have;
indeed, every change which she has made has been to add to duties, and
to extend prohibitions. But the objections in principle against the
exclusion of raw produce seem to us still more forcible than those
against the exclusion of manufactures. In the first place, the con-
sumption of the labourer consists principally of raw produce, _r
N
178 AETI-COMMERCIAL SYSTE_L

slightly worked commodities. No restrictions on the importation of

the finer manufactures can affect him. But laws against the importa-
tion of raw produce are specifically directed against the labouring
population. Their professed object is to diminish, in fact, the princi-
pal fund for the maintenance of labour. And, secondly, when an
agricultural Country prohibits foreign manufactures, the labourer is,
to a certain extent, indemnified by a consequent fall in the price of
raw produce. On the other hand, when a manufacturing Country
prohibits the importation of raw produce, the price of all commodities,
excepting labour, has a tendency to increase, and the labourer finds
it more difficult to obtain every article of his consumption.
This may require some explanation. We have already shown,
that every additional quantity of raw produce is, generally speaking,
obtained at a greater proportional expense. To prohibit the importa-
tion of manufactures is, of course, to prohibit the exportation of the
raw produce, which otherwise would have been employed in purchas-
ing them. As a smaller quantity of raw produce is wanted, a smaller
quantity is produced, and that quantity is produced at a less propor-
tionate expense; labour, though less productive in clothes and
furniture, becomes more productive in raw produce ; the price of raw
produce, therefore, falls, and the labourer, in having less to pay for
food, obtains some compensation for having more to pay for other
commodities. The greater part of the evil falls on the proprietors of
the land. On the contrary, every additional quantity of manufactured
produce is obtained, so far as the manufacturing of it is concerned,
at a less proportionate expense. Every increase of the supply is
accompanied by the introduction of more and better machinery, and
by a further division of labour. As in the former ease, restrictions
on the importation of raw produce are, in fact, restrictions on the
exportation of manufactures. Fewer manufactured commodities
being wanted, and consequently fewer produced, what are produced
are produced at the expense of proportionately more labour than
would otherwise be necessary. More raw produce must be raised at
home, and that also must be raised at a greater proportionate expense
of labour. The price of the one kind of commodities rises, because
it has become necessary to produce more, and that of the other,
because it has become necessary to produce less. The productiveness
of labour is diminished each way, and the only person uninjured is
the landlord.
To a certain extent, however, the misdirection of industry by
government interference is a necessary evil. The duties of govern-
ment cannot be performed without a public revenue ; nor can a con-
siderable public revenue be raised without taxation ; and the struggle
to escape taxation always tends to divert industry from its natural
ehannels. The tax which is least open to this objection, a tax on
rent, must tend to prevent the application of capital to land ; a tax
 A_NTI-COMMERCIAL
SYSTEM. 179

on profits to occasion the exportation of capital; a tax on income

derived from property to prevent accumulation; a tax on wages to
occasion their payment rather in kind than in money, and to prevent
the labourer from acquiring durable and visible property in the hope
of pleading his poverty as an excuse. Taxes on specific articles arc
evaded by the substitution of some less burdened or cheaper commodity.
The beer and malt duties are avoided by the substitution of spirits.
The duties on tea and coffee by the use of roasted corn. Now, every
tax, so far as it is evaded, is simply mischievous. A window blocked
up to avoid window tax may diminish the light and air enjoyed by a
whole family, but adds nothing to the public revenue. A distinct
and a still greater injury arises from taxation imposed on the instru-
ments and processes of industry. The salt tax, while it existed,
prevented in a great measure the use of salt in agriculture. The
duty on advertisements prevents venders and purchasers from know-
ing each other's wants and supplies. The duties on leather, on
spirits, and on glass, have not only prevented England from attaining,
in the manufacture of those commodities, her usual superiority, but
have kept her positively behind the improved part of Europe. To
prevent fraud on the Excise, the manufacturer is subject to innumer-
able regulations and prohibitions incompatible with a proper economy
of materials and division of labour, and which bend very reluctantly
to improvements. To improve is necessarily to alter, and any altera-
tion in the process prescribed by law may entangle the manufacturer
within the meshes of a regulating Act of Parliament.
It is commonly supposed that men are sufficiently ready to grumble
at taxation ; but the fact that they are very imperfectly aware of the
degree and kind of evil indirectly inflicted might be proved from many
instances. To select only one. Most persons are aware of the far
higher price borne by good malting barley above the ordinary barley
used only for feeding stock ; nor can any one doubt that the price
of beer is materially enhanced by this circumstance. But, probably,
not one consumer in ten thousand has any idea that this is connected
with taxation. Yet, in fact, a large proportion of the barley set aside
as unfit for malting would make, as far as nature is concerned, very
good malt, but requires a process somewhat different from that wlfich
the Excise regulations prescribe, and is consequently rendered by law
useless for that purpose. It may easily be conceived that, if the
times and modes of ploughing, harrowing, and sowing, were prescribed
by law, a large portion of land now productive would lie waste.
& Country which has been forced by the folly or the rapacity of its
own government, or by the folly or rapacity of other States, to raise
a large public revenue, suffers in general far more from the indirect
than from the direct effects of taxation ; suffers more by being pre-
vented from producing, than by being obliged to pay.
The causes which determine the productiveness of labour in the
180 _E._T.

direct or indirect production of the commodities used by the labourer

appear, therefore, to be four. First, the personal character of the
labourer, his corporeal, intellectual, and moral qualities; secondly,
the degree in which he is assisted by natural agents; thirdly, the
degree in which he is assisted by capital; fourthly, the degree of
freedom with which he is allowed to direct his industry.

II.CAusESwinch DIVERT Lt_B0_Rrao_ TUE PRODUCTION OF COMMO-

DITIES FOR THE USE OF LABOURING FAMILIES.

I. RENT. II. TAXATION. III.PROFIT.

If all labourers were employed in the production, direct or indirect,
of commodities for their own use, the rate of wages would depend
solely on the productiveness of labour. But it is obvious that this
could never be the case, unless the labourers themselves were the
owners of all the capital and all the natural agents of the country ; a
state of existence so utterly barbarous as to be without distinction of
ranks or division of labour ; a state in which a few scattered savage
families have sometimes been found, but which exhibits none of the
phenomena which it is the business of Political :Economy to trace
to their causes. A great portion of the labour employed in a civilized
community is employed in the production of things in the use of which
the labourer is not to participate. In a civilized community, therefore,
the extent of the fund for the maintenance of labour depends not only
on the productiveness of labour, but also on the number of persons
employed in the production of thin__s for the use of labourers, com-
pared with the whole number of labouring families.
It appears to us that there are three purposes to which labour,
which might otherwise be employed in supplying the fund for the use
of labourers, may be diverted; namely, the production of things,
first, to be used by the proprietors of natural agents ; secondly, to be
used by the government ; and thirdly, to be used by capitalists ; or,
to speak more concisely, though less correctly, Labour, instead of being
employed in the production of Wages, may be employed in the pro-
duction of Rent, Taxation, or Profit.
First, with respect to trent.
We have already seen that Rent depends in part on the productive-
ness of the natural agent for the assistance of which it is paid. _,;ow
any increase in the productive powers of that agent has a tendency
to increase Rent, and can have none to diminish Wages.
The improvements in agricultural skill which have taken place
during the last one hundred years have greatly increased the produo-
tiveness of the Lowlands of Scotland, and greatly increased the
amount of rent; but that increase has been accompanied by an
increase, though not in an equal ratio, of the amount of wages.
Adam Smith states, that at the time when he wrote, (the period of
 RENT. 181

the American War,) the usual price of common labour there was 8d.
a-day, or 4s. a-week. It is now more than 8s. a-week ; a sum capable
of purchasing one-third more of raw produce, and three or four times
as much of manufactured produce, as the former wages. Though the
rental of the Lowlands has more than tripled, though a much larger
portion of what the labourer produces is produced for the benefit of
the landlord, yet the positive increase of the whole produce more than
compensates this apparent inconvenience. Instead of producing, we will
say, twenty bushels, of which the landlord received ten, the capitalist
two, and the labourer eight, he produces perhaps thirty-five, of which the
landlord receives twenty, the capitalist three, and the labourer twelve.
It appears, therefore, that the whole fund for the maintenance
of labour is not necessarily diminished in consequence of a consider-
able portion of the labourers in a Country being employed in pr_.ducing
commodities for the use of the proprietors of the natural agents in that
Country. Such labourers may, in fact, be considered as existing
only in consequence of the existence of natural agents of extraordinary
productiveness. They draw their subsistence not from the common
fund, such as it otherwise would be, but from the addition made to
that fund by that extraordinary productiveness.
Of course, wheu we speak of the amount of rent as unimportant to
the labourer, we must be understood to mean only that rent which
arises from the peculiar or increased productiveness of the natural
agent in question, not of that which arises merely from an increase
of population. We have already stated that, in the absence of
disturbing causes, subsistence may be expected to increase in a
greater ratio than population. But, as we then remarked, it certainly
is possible, and perhaps, under the influence of superstition and
misgovernment, it is probable, that the number of inhabitants in
a Country might increase without a commensurate increase of the
means, direc_ or indirect, of obtaining raw produce. Under such
circumstances, rents would rise, and labour, which, if the population
had remained stationary, would have been employed in the productiou
of commodities for the use of labourers, would now be employed in
producing commodities for the use of landlords. A rise of rent so
occasioned would of course be detrimental to the mass of the conmmnity.
It must be recollected, also, that the government of every Country has
in some measure the power of deciding in what proportions the different
classes of its subjects shall contribute to the public burdens. Some
governments have attempted to exempt, as far as they could, the
labourers from these burdens, and to throw them as far as they could
upon the landlords. Others again have charged, or have allowed
individuals to charge, the revenue arising from land with an expenditure
for purposes in which the landlords were not solely or principally
interested ; such as the establishment and maintenance of roads and
bridges, the supply of religious, moral, and intellectual instruction, the
 ] 82 TAXATION.

affording gratuitous medical relief to the sick, and even support to the
able-bodied poor or their families. Others, on the other hand, have
endeavoured to favour the landlords by imposing public expenditure
on the more defenceless portion of the community, the labourers ; and
many have adopted each of these different lines of conduct on different
occasions, or with respect to different portions of their expenditure.
The tendency of every such institution must be to augment or diminish
the proportion of the labourers employed for the benefit of landlords,
compared with that of those who are employed for the benefit of
labourers.
Another cause disturbing these proportions is the attempt by a
government to create rent, if it can be called rent, by forcibly limiting
the bounty of nature. It is possible that, if we had continued to
prohibit the corn of Ireland, the incomes of English landlords might
have been increased. So, if no coal were allowed to be burned except
the produce of a single colliery, the possessor of that colliery would
enjoy a princely revenue. But the gain from such a monopoly is not
strictly rent ; it is oppression and robbery.

2. Taxation :--Direction of Labour to supply the Consumption of

Government.--The second purpose to which labour may be diverted
from the supply of commodities for the use of labourers is the supply
of the consumption of government. It is clear that all the labour
that is employed in the support of unnecessary establishments, and all
the surplus labour which is employed in supporting on an unnecessary
scale of expense those establishments which are strictly wanted, is so
much taken from the revenue of the whole people. Still more injurious
is the employment of labour for the purposes not merely useless, but
positively mischievous ; in the support of pagodas or bonzes, to keep
up or disseminate a demoralizing superstition ; in the support of armies
and navies to plunder the commerce and ravage the territories of
States, which nature enabled to confer mutual benefits, but the folly
or wickedness of their rulers force to inflict mutual evll ; or in the
support of barriers and blockades to maintain the commercial war in
which nations are accustomed to spend the breathing time of actual
hostility. Unnecessary taxation, even when innocently applied, is
fraud or robbery. It is difficult to find a designation for that which
is applied to ends still more mischievous than the means; for that
which makes plunder and extortion the instruments of still further
injury.
It appears at first sight that only this mischievous or useless expen-
diture ought to be considered as a deduction from wages, since the
labour which is employed in effecting the legitimate purposes of
government is as much employed for the benefit of the labouring
classes as that which is employed in the direct production of com-
modities for their use. The great object of government is to afford
 TAXATIOn. 183

security, and security is of all blessings the most important, and the
one least capable of being obtained by uncombined exertions. Those
writers who have maintained that whatever is raised by taxation is
deducted from the revenue of the Country, seem to have been led to
this conclusion, by observing that the object of government is to
occasion not positive but negative effects, not to produce good, but
to prevent evil. And they have thought it right to deduct what is so
spent from the net revenue of the people. But it must be recollected
that the mere prevention of evil is one of the principal objects even of
individual expenditure. We do not build houses because it is pleasant
to breathe the confined atmosphere of a room, but because roofs and
walls are the only means by which the inclemency of the seasons can
be avoided. We do not buy drugs for our pleasure, but to avert or
remove disease. Yet no one ever thought what he spends on medicines
and on house rent a deduction from his income. When the members
of a Friendly Society raise among themselves a fund for their relief in
sickness, they do not consider their contributions a deduction from •
their wages, but a mode of expenditure. And it may be asked, in
what respect does each man's contribution towards the means by
which the community is to be protected against internal and external
violence and fraud differ from his contribution to a Friendly Society,
excepting that those evils are more severe and more constantly
imminent than sickness, and less capable of being warded off by
individual efforts ? It is true that, if the protection could be less
expensively obtained, the fund for the maintenance of labour would be
increased. But this is merely an exemplification of what we have
already stated, that the extent of the fund for the maintenance of
labour depends mainly on the productiveness of labour. If fewer
fleets, and armies, and magistrates, could preserve the peace, that is,
if labour were more productive in affording security, the labouring
classes would, ca_eris paribus, be better off, just as they would be
better off if fewer husbandmen or artisans could produce, directly or
indirectly, the same quantity of corn; that is, if labour were more
productive in supplying food.
But admitting all this to be true, it is also true, as we have already
remarked, that the labourer is interested not only in the amount and
application of the public revenue, and in the degree in which its pay-
merit affects the productiveness of labour, but also in the manner in
which the burthen of supplying it is distributed. If the duty on wine
were abolished, and an equal revenue raised by substituting an addi-
tional duty on coarse tobacco, the labourers, who are the only consumers
of coarse tobacco, would purchase, with the same proportion of their
wages, less tobacco than before, and the landlords and capitalists, who
are the only consumers of wine, would purchase, with the same pro-
portions of their rent and profits, more wine. The productiveness of
our labour and the export of our manufactures would be undiminished;
184 TAXATION.

even the nature of our exports need not be altered ; the only change
would be in the returns. More wine and less tobacco would be
imported. More labourers, therefore, than before, would be employed
in obtaining wine for landlords and capitalists, and fewer in obtaining
tobacco for labourers.
Nor must it be forgotten that a part of the taxes received by the
government of one Country is often paid by the inhabitants of another.
We now purchase annually in China about thirty millions of pounds of
tea, at about Is. a pound. 0n the tea so purchased we impose in
different ways taxes to the amount of about two hundred per cent.
Were we to repeal that taxation, and the price in China were to remain
unaltered, our consumption would probably quadruple; but it is
highly improbable that we could purchase one hundred and twenty
millions of pounds of tea at ls. a pound. The price in China might
possibly double; it probably would rise one-half. That rise would
have a tendency to raise the rent of land and the wages of labour in
the tea-growing districts of China. It must be admitted, therefore,
that they are both kept down by the existence of the tax; and that
a portion of our duty on tea is, in fact_ paid by the inhabitants of the
tea-growing districts of China. The same reasoning proves that a
part of the English duty on claret is pa;d by France, and that a part
of the duties imposed by foreign nations on some of the commodities
which we export, is paid by England. As a portion of the taxes raised
by every State is, in fact, paid by the inhabitants of those Countries
with which it has commercial relations, and as war and misgovernment
are the great causes of taxation, an additional proof is afforded of the
degree in which each Country is interested in the freedom and trau-
quillity of its neighbours.
We have lastly to consider the influence of profits on wages ; or, in
other words, the extent to which wages may be affected by the
employment of labour to produce, instead of wages, things for the use
of capitalists. In civilized and well-governed communities, this is the
principal purpose to which labour, that otherwise might be employed
for the benefit of the labourers, is diverted. The labourers who are
employed for the benefit of the owners of natural agents may, as we
have seen, be in general considered as a separate class, not withdrawn
from the general body, but added to it by the existence of those
natural agents. Those who are necessarily employed in effecting the
legitimate purposes of government are, in fact, employed for the
benefit of the labouring population, and the taxation which supplies
their maintenance is not necessarily a deduction from wages, but a
mode of expenditure. That few governments have confined themselves
to their legitimate office, or employed in effeeting that ofi%e only the
necessary amount of labour, is a melancholy truth ; and it is true that
the fund for the maintenance of labour may be, and in most Countries
has been, and is, more diminished in its amount, and more retarded
 INFLUENCE OF PROFIT ON WAGES. 185

in its increase, by misgovernment than by all other causes put together.

But both misgovernment and that interference of the ruling power
between the different classes of its subjects which we have already
described as affecting the proportions of rent, profit, and wages to one
another, are rather disturbing causes than necessary elements in the
calculations of Political Economy; and with these allusions to their
influence we shall dismiss them.

3. llnnnencv of Profit on Wage_.--Rent, then, being considered as

something extrinsic, and Taxation a'mode of expenditure, the only
remaining deduction from Wages is Profit. And the vroductiveness
of labour being given, the extent of the fund for the maintenance of
labour will depend on the proportion which the number of labourers
employed in producing things for the use of capitalists bears to that
of those employed in producing things for the use of labourers ; or, to
use a more common expression, on the proportions in which the produce
of labour is shared between the capitalist and the labourer.
In a previous portion of this Treatise we defined the word " ab-
stinence" to mean the conduct of him who abstains from the unpro-
ductive consumption of any commodity, or who employs labour to
produce distant results. In fact, the act of deferring enjoyment.
And we explained that labour cannot be e_eient unless assisted by,
what is the result of abstinence, capital; nor abstinence in itself
efficient unless assisted by labour ; that each is disagreeable, and must
therefore be called into exertion by the prospect of _ts specific remun-
eration ; abstinence by the hope of profit, and labour by the hope of
wages: and we stated, that although in fact the same individual often
undergoes both abstinence and labour, yet that we thought it more
convenient to consider the capitalist and the labourer as different
persons. In the absence of rent, and of unnecessary or unequally
distributed taxation, it is between these two classes that all that is
produced is divided; and the question now to be considered is, what
decides the proportion of the shares?

' The facts which decide in what proportions the capitalist and
labourer share the common fund appear to be two: first, t/_e general
irate of profit in the Country on t]_e advance of cap_tal Jbr a give_
i pcriod ; and, secondly, the period which in each particular case _as
elapsed between the advance of the capital and the receipt or"the profit.

Generul Hate of Protit.--First, as to the General Rate of Profit.

We have seen that Profit is the remuneration of abstinence, and that
abstinence is the deferring of enjoyment. The commodity which owes
its existence or its preservation to abstinence is Capital. Its owner is
termed a Capitalist, and he is said to advance the means by which it is
created or preserved. These means are partly materials and imple-
186 GENERAL RATE OF PROFIT.

mcnts, (including, under the last term, not merely the ordinary tools
of manual labour, but machinery, ships, and even roads, wharfs, and
canals,) and partly labour. The materials and implements are supplied
by the capitalist directly, the labour is supplied by him indirectly, by
advancing the wages of the labourers. The labourers, aided by their
implements, convert the materials into a new and vendible commodity,
which is termed the re2urn of the capitalist. And the capitalist's profit
depends on the difference between the value of the advance and the value
of the return. In producing the return, the wages and materials are
necessarily consumed; they are parted with by the capitalist, and
therefore termed circulating capital. The implements are not neces-
sarily consumed; so far as they are unconsumed they remain the
property of the capitalist, and are therefore termed fixed capital.
The value of that portion of them which remains unconsumed must be
added to that of the other returns before the profit can be estimated.
The capital of a builder is almost entirely circulating. It consists
principally of the bricks, lime, timber, stone, and slate which are the
materials with which the house is to be constructed, and of the money
necessary to pay the wages of the workmen. His fixed capital
(exclusively of his konwledge) consists merely of scaffolding and
ladders. All these he advances, and the result, after a certain interval,
is a house, together with the forrher ladders and scaffolding somewhat
the worse for wear. The cotton-spinner's advances consist of raw
cotton and wages, which are his circulating capital, and buildings and
machinery, which are his fixed capital. His returns are a certain
quantity of manufactured cotton, and the old buildings and machinery.
So, a ship-owner's advances consist of his ship, which is his fixed
capital, and of its stores, and the wages of his sailors, which are his
circulating capital; his returns are his freight, or, in other words, the
hire which he receives for the use of his ship, the ship itself, such as
it may be, after the voyage, and the stores, if any of them remain

stated, of the difference between the value of the advances and the
unconsumed.
value of the returns.
The profit in every case consists, as we have already
How Profit is to be E*timated.--BUt in what is this value to be
estimated? Of course in something as unsusceptible as possible of
variations in its general value. If the value of the advances and
returns of the capitalist were estimated in corn or in hops, an abun-
dant season might so reduce the value of either as to make him
appear a gainer when in fact a loser. His returns might be worth
twenty per cent. more of corn or hops than his advances, and yet be
inferior in general value. The commodity least susceptible of variation
in its general value, during short periods, is money; and partly from
this circumstance, and partly from its general use as a measure of
value, it is the medium in which calculations of profit are usually
expressed. :But, if considerable periods are to be taken, even money
 GENERAL
RATEOF PROFIT. 187

is subject to great variations, and any sudden change in the facility

of obtaining it, arising from an increased fertility of the mines, or an
increased productiveness of labour, or an abuse of banking or paper
currency, or from similar causes operating in an opposite direction,
may materially raise or depress the general value of money in any oue
Country, even during short periods.
The best Standard of Value for philosophical purposes appears to
be the command of labour. In the first plaee, labour, next to money,
is the principal subject of exchange. And, in the second place,
labour, as the principal instrument of production, as the only instru-
ment that can be employed at will in the creation of whatever is
most wanted, varies less in its general value than any other article of
exchange. Money, and the necessaries of life which approach nearest
to it, derive in part their steadiness of value from their constant
power of commanding labour, a power belonging to no other com-
modity. Estimated indeed in one class of objects, and it is the class
most coveted by man, we mean power and pre-eminence, the value of
the command of labour is almost invariable. Two persons who, at
different times or in different places, can each command the labour of
one thousand average labourers, may indeed enjoy in very different
degrees the comforts and conveniences of life; but in power and
pre-eminence in their respective Countries they must be nearly on a
par. Each must be one man in a thousand. Each must be a thousand
times richer than the mass of his Countrymen. If two shillings in
Hindostan will command as many labourers as twenty in England,
a Hindoo with £3000 a-year is, generally speaking, as great a man
in Hindostan as an Englishman with £30,000 a-year in England.
Philosophically, therefore, we think that the value of the capitalist's |
advances and returns ought to be estimated in their command of
labour; popularly, their value is estimated in money; and, as the
reciprocal values of money and labour seldom vary much between the
times of those advances and returns, the popular mode of estimation
is seldom incorrect; and we shall therefore use both indifferently.
The great ditiieulty of the subject arises from the circumstance,
that the rate of profit is not the subject of contract, but of experiment,
and cannot be ascertained even by an individual, except as to his pas_
operations. While a transaction is going on, the capitalist may hope
that the value of the returns will exceed the value of the advances;
he may hope that the excess will be considerable; but he cannot be
certain that there will be any excess at all; that there will not be a
positive loss. He may say what his profit has been, but not what it
is. Frequently, indeed, he cannot say what it has been. A whole
series of mercantile or manufaeturing transactions may be so linked
together that, after having been apparently profitable for years, they
may terminate in ruin.
If, however, we could a_eertain the value of the returns in all the
188 CAUSES REGULATING THE RATE OF PROFIT.

transactions in this Country which were concluded in the year ending

yesterday; and also could ascertain what was the value of the
advances, and the average time for which those advances were made
before the returns were received, we should know what was the
average rate of profit in this Country during the last year. Suppose
this point ascertained, and the result to be, that the average rate of
profit on an advance of capital for a year was in this Country during
the last year ten per cent., the question recurs, what were the causes
which determined it to be ten per cent. rather than five per cent. or
twenty per cent. ?
It appears to us that it must have depended principally on the
previous conduct of the capitalists and of the labourers of this Country;
on the value of the capital which at some previous period was appro-
priated by the capitalists to produce commodities for the use of
labourers, or, to use a more concise expression, to produce wages;
and the number of labourers whom the previous conduct of the
labouring population had caused to exist.
CaBNeS regulating the Igate of Protit.--It will be admitted that, in
the absence of disturbing causes, the rate of profit in all employments
of capital is equal. If we can ascertain, therefore, what are the
causes which regulate the rate of profit in any one of the main em-
ployments of capital, we may infer that, in the absenee of peculiar
&sturbance, either the same causes, or, causes of equal force, occasion
it to be the same in all others. We will inquire, therefore, into the
causes which regulate the rate of profit in one of the main employ-
ments of capital,--the advance of wages to the labourers who are
themselves employed in producing wages, using the word wages to
signify commodities for the use of the labouring population.
To simplify the question, we will suppose a small colony settled in
a district where there is abundance of fertile land, and protected by
situation and character from external and internal violence, so that
neither rent nor taxation need be supposed to exist: we will suppose
it to be inhabited by ten capitalists and one thousand two hundred
labouring families; that O_e use of money is unknown; that all the
buildings, the clothes, the furniture, and the food, in fact, the whole
consumption of the people, is consumed in one year and reproduced
in the next; that each family receives its wages for the year on the
first day of the year, and completes its production on the last day, so
that all the advances arc made on the first day of the year, and all
the returns received on the last day; and that, at the time when the
situation of the colony was first noticed, each capitalist had in his
possession wages for one hundred and twenty families during a year,
the produce of the labour of one hundred families during the previous
year, ( being his capital, and which, to reduce it to one denomination,
we will call one thousand quarters of corn ; ) and commodities for his
own use, which we will call twenty casks of wine, the produce of the
 CAUSES REGULATINGTIIE RATE OF PROFIT. 189

labour of twenty families during the previous year ; (being the stock
reserved for his own consumption.)
Under such circumstances, if each capitalist should employ his
capital in setting one hundred families to work to reproduce wages,
and twenty more to reproduce commodities for his own use, and the
labouring population should neither increase nor diminish, the rate of
profit would remain stationary at twenty per cent. per annum. The
advances every year would be one thousand quarters of corn, being
wages produced by the labour of one hundred families, and command-
ing the labour of one hundred and twenty ; the returns would be a
stock of wages commanding the labour of one hundred and twenty
families during the next year, which would be, in fact, a reproduction
of the previous capital of one thousand quarters, and also a stock of
commodities for the capitalist's own use, produced by one-sixth of the
labour employed in reproducing the capital, and therefore one-sixth of
the value of the capital. The value of the returns on an advance of
capital for a year would exceed the value of the advances by one-sixth.
The rate of profit therefore would, as we said before, remain stationary
at twenty per cent. per annum. And five-sixths of the labourers
would be employed in producing commodities for their own use, and
one-sixth in producing commodities for the use of the capitalists.
We will now consider the effects of any alteration in the proportion
of capital to labour. Suppose that emigration or an unhealthy season
should diminish by fifty the number of labouring families: each
capitalist would have the same capital ; consisting of wages produced
by the labour of one hundred families during the year, and which we
have called one thousand quarters of corn : but the number of labourers
being diminished by one-twenty-fourth, instead of commanding the
labour of one hundred and twenty families, they would command the
labour of only one hundred and fifteen. The one thousand quarters of
corn would be divided among one hundred and fifteen families instead
of among one hundred and twenty, and the capitalist would get only
fifteen casks of wine during the subsequent year instead of tweniy.
To take the converse: if immigration or an increase of popula-
tion should have increased the number of labourers by fifty, each
capitalist, instead of one hundred and twenty families, would be able
to command the labour of one hundred and twenty-five. The one
thousand quarters would be divided among one hundred and twenty-
five families, instead of among one hundred and twenty, and the
capitalist might employ twenty-five families to produce wine ibr him-
self instead of twenty. In the one case, profits rise from twenty to
about twenty-five per cent.; in the other, they fall to about fifteen.
On the other hand, if we suppose the labouring population to remain
stationary at one thousand two hundred families, but the capitalists,
instead of employing each one hundred families in the production of
wages, and twenty in the production of profits, to employ each one
190 CAUSES REGULATINGTHE RATE OF PROFIT.

hundred and five in the production of wages, each capitalist would at

the end of the year have a capital of one thousand and fifty quarters
produced by the labour of one hundred and five families, and com-
manding the labour of one hundred and twenty ; or if they each
employed in the production of wages only ninety-five families, and in
the production of profits twenty-five, each would have at the end of
the year a capital of nine hundred and fifty quarters, produced by the
labour of ninety-five families, and commanding the labour of one
hundred and twenty. Profits would fall in the first instance from
twenty per cent. to less than fifteen ; in the second, they would rise
to more than twenty-five. If, however, the increase of the number of
labourers employed in the production of wages should be accompanied
by a proportionate increase in the whole number of labourers ; or if,
when the number of labourers employed in the production of wages
was diminished, the whole number of labourers should be diminished
in proportion ; or, in other words, if the proportion of capital to labour
remained unaltered, the rate of profit would be also unaltered. If
each were increased, or each diminished, but in different proportions,
profits would rise or fall according to the relative variations in the
supply of wages and labour.
It appears, therefore, that, under the most simple state of circum-
stances, the rate of profits depends, as we said before, on the previous
conduct of the capitalists and the labourers in a Country.
In this hypothesis we have supposed all the capitalists to act
together. And as every permanent increase of capital while the
number of labourers remained the same would, under the supposed
circumstances, occasion a proportionate diminution of the rate of profit,
it never could be the interest of the capitalists, as a body, to increase
their capital, except with a view to increase the number of labourers ;
or even to keep up their capital, except so far as it should be necessary
to keep up the existing number of labourers. It would be their interest,
if the population were incapable of increase, to devote to the production
of wages labour just sufficient to produce the necessaries of life for
that stationary population, if the population were advancing just
sufficient to enable it to adrance ; to treat the labourers, in short, as
a farmer treats his horses, or a slave-owner his slaves.
Under such circumstances, supposing the capitalists to be governed
solely by their interest, the rate of profit would depend partly on the
productiveness of labour, and partly on the period that must elapse
between the time of the advances and of the returns. Given the
period of advance, it would depend on the productiveness of labour.
If a labourer by a year's labour could produce a return which, to
reduce it to one denomination, we will call ten quarters of corn, and
five quarters were enough for his support, the rate of profit would be
one hundred per cent. per annum. By an advance of five quarters the
capitalist would obtain a return of ten. If the labourer could produce
 CAUSES REGULATING THE RATE OF PROFIT. 191

fifteen, the rate of profit would be two hundred per cent.; by an

advance of five the capitalist would obtain fifteen. If the labourer
could produce only seven and a-half, profits would be fifty per cent.
On the other hand, the productiveness of labour being given, the rate
of profit would depend on the period for which the capital must be
advanced. When the labourer receiving five quarters as wages could,
by a year's labour, produce ten, a capitalist with a capital consisting
of ten quarters could employ two labourers, each of whom would return
to him ten quarters every year. But if, instead of returning ten
quarters at the end of one year, a labourer returned twenty quarters
at the end of two years, a capitalist with a capital of ten quarters
would be able to employ only one labourer instead of two ; for if he
were to employ two his capital would be exhausted before it was
reproduced. Only one-half of the number of labourers could be
employed by the same amount of capital, and instead of getting a net
revenue of ten quarters every year, the capitalist would get a net
revenue of only ten quarters every two years.
Happily, however, the capitalists of a Country, do not act as a body.
Each pursues his own scheme of aggrandizement, indifferent to its
effect on his neighbours, and it is chiefly to their mutual competition
that we owe the increase both of capital and of population. To revert
to our original hypothesis ; suppose one of the capitalists, instead of
employing, like each of the others, twenty labourers to produce com-
modities for his own use and one hundred to produce wages, to
employ one hundred and ten labourers in the production of wages. At
the end of the year he would have a capital consisting of one thousand
one hundred quarters of corn produced by the labour of one hundred
and ten families, and commanding, at the existing rate of u'agcs, the
labour of one hundred and thirty-two families ; and the nine others
would have each a capital consisting of one thousand quarters, pro-
dueed by the labour of one hundred families, and commanding, at the
existing rate of wages_ one hundred and twenty families. The whole
capital of the Country, instead of its former amount, namely, ten
thousand quarters, being wages for one thousand two hundred families,
would amount to ten thousand one hundred quarters, being wages for
one thousand two hundred and twelve families. But as there would
be only one thousand two hundred families to receive them, profits
would fall about one per cent., or from twenty per cent. to a fraction
less than nineteen per cent. per annum. This fall of profits would
prevent the capitalist, to whose conduct it was owing, from reaping the
full benefit of his accumulation. He would find himself possessed of
a capital consisting of one thousand one hundred quarters, being
wages produced by the labour of one hundred and ten families, and
commanding the labour of one hundred and thirty and a fraction; but
every other capitalist would find his capital of o_e thousand quarters,
produced by the labour of one hundred families, commanding the
 192 CAUSES REGULATINGTHE RATE OF PROFIT.

labour of a small fraction less than one hundred and nineteen families.
The first, or acemnulating capitalist, would find the value of his
capital and the amount of his profits increased, though the rate of
profits had fallen one per cent. But all the other capitalists would
find both the value of their capital and the amount of their profits
.. diminished.
Now there is nothing to which a capitalist submits so reluctantly
as the diminution of the value of his capital. He is dissatisfied if it
even remain stationary. Capitals are generally formed from small
beginnings by acts of accumulation, which become in time habitual.
The capitalist soon regards the increase of his capital as the great
business of his life ; and considers the greater part of his profit more as
a means to that end than as a subject of enjoyment. It is probable,
therefore, that the other capitalists in the Country would endeavour
to keep the value of their capitals unimpaired, though at the expense
of a diminution of the general rate of profit. One after another would
follow the example of the first-mentioned capitalist, and devote to the
increase of their respective capitals a portion of the labour previously
employed in furnishing commodities for their own use. In time each
capitalist, instead of employing one hundred families in the reproduc-
tion of capital, and twenty in supplying his own enjoyments, would
employ one hundred and ten in the reproduction of capital, and only
ten for his own purposes. The rate of profit would fall from twenty
to ten per cent., and, of the one thousand two hundred labouring
families, one thousand one hundred would be employed in producing
wages, and only one hundred in producing profits. The annual pro-
duce of the Country, instead of ten thousand quarters of corn and two
hundred casks of wine, would consist of ten thousand one hundred
quarters of corn and one hundred casks of wine. Instead of five-
sixths of the labourers in the Country being employed in producing
commodities for the use of the labourers and one-sixth for the use of
capitalists, eleven-twelfths would be employed for the benefit of the
labourers, and only one-twelfth for the benefit of the capitalists.
This fall of profit, however, could take place only on the supposition
of the number of labouring families remaining unaltered. But it is
highly improbable that it could remain unincreased. The increase of
wages would enable the labourers to marry earlier, or to raise more
numerous families. If labour should remain equally productive, their
numbers might increase until the former proportion of labourers to
capital had been restored. All the results would be beneficial. The
labourers would not be worse off than before the additional accumula-
tion took place, and the capitalists would be better off. The value of
their capitals and the amount of their profits would be increased, and
the rate of profit would be again twenty per cent. per annum.
We set out ,vith supposing a Country possessing an abundance of
fertile land. Under such circumstances the productiveness of labour
 CAUSES REGULATING THE RATL OF PROFIT. 193

might for a long period continue, or even increase, with every addition
to the number of its inhabitants. But in a densely-peopled Country
the powers of labour seldom remain the same during an increase of
population. In manufactures labour becomes proportionably more
productive. In agriculture, unless aided by increased industry or
skill, or by permanent improvements of the soil, it becomes propor-
tionably less so. And, as the labourer consumes chiefly raw or
slightly-manufactured produce, tile increased facility of obtaining
manufactures may not make up for an increased difficulty in obtaining
raw produce. In an old country, therefore, when the rate of profit
has been reduced by an increase of capital, it seldom can be fully
restored by a proportionate increase of population, unless either the
labourer receives a smaller quantity of raw produce than before, or
the necessity of cultivating lands of inferior productiveness is obviated
either by permanent improvements, such as draining marshes, or
fertilizing bogs, or by additional industry or skill, or by the import_-
tion of raw produce. In such Countries the natural progress seems
to be an increase of capital, occasioning a fall of the rate of profit; a
check to that fall, occasioned by an increase of the labouring popula-
tion; a check to that increase, occasioned by an increased difficulty
in obtaining raw produce; and a diminution, rarely amounting to a
removal, of that difficulty, occasioned by permanent agricultural
improvements, increased industry or skill, or foreign importation:
leaving, as the general result, a constant tendency towards an increase
of capital and population, and towards a fall in the rate of profits.

In our hypothesis we have supposed the whole capital of the

Country to be consumed and reproduced every year. Under such
circumstances it has appeared that, the number of labourers remain-
ing the same, no permanent addition could be made to capital without
occasioning immediately a proportionate diminution of the rate of
profit, since that addition would disappear in a year unless reproduced
by a repetition of the sacrifice on the part of the capitalist bv whom
it was originally created. But the result would be different" if that
addition were made in a form requiring no further labour for its
reproduction. Suppose the capitahst, instead of adding five to the
hundred families employed in producing wages, were to employ the
additional five in the construction of a durable machine enabling one
man to do some piece of work that previously required two. At the
end of the first year each capitalist would possess wages for cne hun-
dred and twenty families, produced by the labour of one hundred
families; commodities for his own use, produced by the labour of
fifteen families; and his machine, produced by the labour of five
families. But in every subsequent year he might obtain wages for
one hundred and twenty families by employing only ninety-nine
families and his machine, and might employ twenty-one families iu
o
194 TIME OF ADVANCEOF CAPITAL.

producing commodities for himself. Both the rate and the amount o.z
profit would be increased without any diminution of wages. Such a
machine is a new labourer added to the existing number of labourers,
but a new labourer whom it costs nothing to maintain. It adds to
the amount of the profit of the capitalist who has constructed it,
without either taking from the profits of other capitalists, as must be
the case when additional capital is created, which must be kept up
and worked by additional labour; or taking from the wages of the
other labourers, as must be the case when an additional labourer is
added, whose subsistence must be taken from the common fund. A
machine or implement is, in fact, merely a means by which the pro_
ductivcness of labour is increased. The millions which have been
expended in this Country in making roads, bridges, and ports, have
had no tendency to reduce either the rate of profit or the amount of
wages. They have, in fact, had a tendency to keep up both, by
enabling labour to be more productive, and consequently enabling the
circulating capital and the population of the Country to increase in
corresponding ratios.
It appears, therefore, that in one of the main employments o!
capital, namely, the employment of labourers to produce commodities
for the use of labourers, or, in other words, to produce wages, the
difference between the value of the returns and the value of the
advances depends on the amount of labour which at a previous period
was devoted to the production of wages, compared with the amount of
labour which those wages when produced can command. And as
the rate of profits in every different employment of capital has a ten-
dency to equality, we may infer that all capitals, however employed.
yield about the same rate of profit as those which are employed in the
production of wages.
AVERAGP.PERIOD OF ADVANCEOF CAVI_AL.--Thc first of the tw,
principles which regulate the division of the produce between the
capitalist and the labourer, namely, the tale of profit in the advance
of capitalofor a given time, having been, in some measure, ascertained.
we proceed to inquire into the causes which regulate tile second prin-
ciple, namely, the average time for which _he capital must be advanced.
It must be recollected, however, that the expression "the capi-
talist's share," though familiarly used by Economists, is not strictly
correct. When the product is completed, it is the sole property of
toe capitalist, who has purchased it by paying in advance the labour-
er's wages. What is meant, therefore, by "the capitalist's share."
is that portion of the product, or of the price for which it sells, which
the capitalist can retain and apply for his own purposes, keeping the
value of his capital unimpaired. What is meant by " the labourer's
share," is that portion of the produce, or of the price for which it
sells, which the capitalist, if he keep his capital unimpaired, cannot
employ for his awn purposes, but must employ in advancing tha price
 TL_,IE
OF ADV._NCE OF CAPITAL. 105

ofthe labourby which thework ofreproduction isto be performed.

We have alreadyshown that,theperiodofadvancebeinggiven,these
proportions arc determinedby therateof profit.Itisequally clear
that, the rate of profit being given, they must be determined by the
period of advance. If a capitalist has a return which we will call
twelve quarters of corn, and we wish to know how much of it he must
retain as capital, and how much he may use as profit, the first inquiry
is, For what period must he advance his capital before he can again
obtain a similar return? The next inquiry is, What is the current
rate of profit ? If the answer to the first inquiry be, one year, and
to the second, twenty per cent. per annum, it follows that, by co_-
stantly employing ten quarters as wages, he will receive two as profit
If the period of advance be only six months, the rate of profit con-
tinuing at twenty per cent. per annum, he must employ eleven and a
fraction as capital, and will not receive quite one as profit. If the
period of advance be two years, the rate of profit continuing at twenty
per cent. per annum, rather less than eight quarters will form a suffi-
cient capital, and rather more than four will be profit. With every
prolongation of the period of advance, the rate of profit continuing th'c
same, the capitalist's share must increase. With every abridgement
of that period it must diminish. And it is equally obvious that, the
period of advance being given, the capitalist's share must augment
with every increase of the rate of profit, and diminish as that rate
decreases.
On what then does the period for which capital is to be advanced
depend? To this question no general answer can be given. The
period differs according to the accidents of soil and climate ; it varies
indefinitely in every different business, and even in employments
which, in other respects, are perfectly similar.
In Europe the harvest is annual; in Hindostan it recurs every six
months. The average period for which agricultural wages arc
advanced must at least be twice as long in Europe as in Hindostal_.
A great part of the capital employed in breeding horses must be
advanced four or five years; that employed in planting must Le
advanced forty or fifty. A very small part of the capital of a butcher
or a baker is advanced for more than a week. The stock of a fish-
monger spoils in a day ; that of a Reinish wine-merchant is improved
by being kept a century. As a general rule, the average period i_
longer or shorter in one Country than in another, in an inverse pro-
portion to the general rate of profit. In the general market of the
world, a Country in which the rate of profit is low has over one where
it is high an advantage which increases at compound interest, as thv
period of advance is prolonged. The rate of profit in Russia is sup-
posed to be above twice as high as in England. We will suppose
that rate to he five per cent. per annum in England, and ten in
Ruuia, A commodity produced in Russia by an advance of £10 _br
19G TIME OF ADVANCE OF CAPITAL.

twenty years would sell for nearly .£70. A commodity produced in

:England by the advance of £20 for the same time would sell for les._
than £60. The difference in the rate of profit would far outbalance
a doubling of the first expenditure. Profits arc supposed to be lower
in Holland and in England than in any other part of the globe. The
:English and the Dutch, therefore, have almost a monopoly in those
trades in which the returns are distant. Abstinence with them is a
cheap instrument of production, and they use it to the utmost. In
their commerce with other nations they generally pay in ready money.
but give a very long credit. They purchase raw produce, and sel!
manufactures. In many instances they even advance to the foreign
Countries the first expenses of production. The indigo of Bengal.
the wines of the Cape, the wool of Australia, and the silver of 5Iexico.
are in a great measure produced by the advance of English capital.
The accumulated interest on such advances would be an intolerabh _
addition to the value of the returns if the rate of profit were high.
This circumstance occasions a tendency to uniformity in the propor-
tion, in different Countries, in which the produce is shared betwee:.
the capitalist and the labourer. Where profits are high, the capital_
ist's share is kept down by the shortness of the period for which his
capital is advanced. Wt_ere they are low, it is kept up by the pro-
lonzation of that period.
The labourer is far more interested in the comparative rate o_
profit than in the comparative period for which capital is advanced.
The productiveness of labour and the period of advance being given,
we have seen that the amount of his share of the product depends on
the rate of profit. It is his interest, therefore, in the first place, that
when capital is employed i_ the production of the camnwdities whic],
],,e consumes, all other things remaining the same, the rate of profi:
should be low. And if it were possible that the rate of profit i_.,
other employments could be higher, capital would be diverted from
the only production in which the labourer is directly interested_tbe
production of commodities for his own use_and the general fund for
the maintenance of labour would be diminished. All other things,
therefore, remaining the same, it is the labourer's interest that the
rate of profit should be unirersally low. But it must be recollected.
first, that the average period for which capital is advanced, especially
in the production of the commodities used by labourers, is so short that
the capitalist's share is small even when profits are high: if the
advance has been for six months, the capitalist's share, at the high
rate of twenty per cent. per ammm, would be less than one-eleventh:
and, secondly, that a high rate of profit is generally found to accom-
pany a great productiveness of labour. And therefore that, in
general, the labourer is better paid, or, in other words, receives'a
larger amount of commodities, when profits are high, that is when he
receives a small share, than when profits are low, that is when he
 TIME OF ADVANCE OF CAPITAL. 197

receives a large share, of the value of what he produces. The

increase of the labourer's share from ten-elevenths to twenty-one-
twenty-seconds, which would be the consequence in the case which we
have supposed of a fall of profits by oue-half, would add very little to
the amount of his wages.
On the other hand, it is his interest that, when capital is employed
in the production of what he hirnsdfconsumes, the period of advance
should be short. We will suppose a labourer employed on the least
productive soil to produce by a year's labour, employed in hoeing and
weeding, all additional produce of twenty-two quarters of corn ; the
wages of labour to be £20 a-year; the rate of profit to be ten per
cent. per annum, and a year to elapse between the advance of the
wages and the corn being _ fit for use; the price of the corn would be
£.22 ; the labourer would receive twenty quarters, or, what is tile
same, ,£20, with which he could purchase twenty quarters. But if
corn were not fit for use until it had been kept for ten years_ on the
same data, the corn, instead of selling for £22, would sell for above
£50; the labourer would receive less than ten quarters instead of
twenty, or, what comes to the same, his wages, instead of twenty,
would purchase less than ten quarters. To produce the corn would
require the same degree of labour as before, but ten tiaras as much
abstinence.
Another consequence of the prolongation of the period of advance
would be, that with the same amount of capital the cap;talist would
be able to maintain much fewer labourers than before. If ten
quarters were necessary to maintain a labouring family during a year,
and they could reproduce eleven in a state fit for consumption at the
end of the year, a capital of one hundred quarters would enable a
capitalist to keep in constant employ ten labouring filmilies during
the first year, and eleven during every subsequent year. But, if the
corn were not fit forconsumption till the end of tell years, a capitalist
starting with a capital of one hundred quarters could not maintain
more than a single family, for, if he were to maintain more, the
capital would be exhausted before it was reproduced. The prolonga-
tion of the period of advance would have precisely the same effect as
a diminished productiveness of labour.
But the prolongation of the period of advance of the capital
employed in the production of the commodities which the labourer
does not consume is utterly indifferent to him. If a labourer by a
year's labour can produce twenty-two ounces of lace, his wages being
£20 a-year, and advanced for a year, and the rate of profit being ten
per cent., he will receive ten-elevenths of the value of the lace, or, in
other words, he might purchase with his wages twenty ounces of
l_e. If the lace required keeping for ten years, his wages would
purchase less than tell ounces of the lace in its complete state. :But
as he never wishes to purchase lace, and as the prolongation of the
]98 TIME OF ADVANCE OF CAPITAL.

period for which eapital must be advanced in the production of lace

would not affect either the productiveness of labour, or the rate of
profit, or the period of advance in an)-other employment, it would
be utterly indifferent to him; it would affect only the consumers of
lace.

We have seen that, although practically high wages and high

profits generally go together, yet, all other things remaining the
same, it is the interest of the labourers that profits should he univer-
sally low. It is equally clear that it is the interest of the capitalists
that they should be universally high. A fall in the rate of profit in
any one employment has a tendency to force capital into the others.
This diminishes the competition among the first-mentioned capitalists,
but increases it among the others. The first are relieved, but it is
only by the loss being spread over the whole body.
But a prolongation of the period of advance affects the capitalist
only so far as he uses the specific commodity with respect to which
that prolongation has taken place. The rate of profit on the advance
,}f capital for a given period being given, the length of the period
between the bottling of a pipe of port and its being fit for use affects
a wine merchant only so far as he drinks port. As a consumer, it is
his interest that the period should be short; as a capitalist it is
immaterial to him.

We have now given an outline of the causes which affect the

general rate of wages, the most important and the most dimcult of all
the subjects embraced by Political Economy. It has appeared, first,
that the general rate of wages depends on the amount of the fund for
the maintenance of labourers, compared with the number of labourore
to be maintained.
Secondly, that the amount of that fund depends partly on the pro-
.luetiveness of labour in the production of the commodities used by
the labourer, or, to speak more concisely, in the production of wages,
and partly on the number of labourers employed in the production of
wages compared with the whole number of labourers.
Thirdly, that the productiveness of labour depends on the character
of the labourer, or the assistance which he derives from natural
agents, and from capital, and on his freedom from interference.
Fourthly, that, in the absence of rent and improper or unequally-
distributed taxation, the proportion of the labourers employed in pro-
dueing wages to the whole number of labourers depends partly on the
rate of profit, and partly on the time for which the capital employed
in the production of wages must he advanced.
Fifthly, that the rate of profit, at any given time, depends on the
previous conduct of capitalists and labourers.
And, sixthly, that the period for which capital must be advanced
 TIME OF ADVANCE OF CAPITAL. 199

is subject to no general rule, but has a tendency to be prolonged

when profits are low, and shortened when they are high.

The inquiry into the causes which regulate wages has, in a great
measure, ascertained those which affect profits. _,Vehave to add only
that profits may be considered in three points of view: first, as to
their rate; secondly, as to their amount; and, thirdly, as to the
amount of desirable objects which a given amount of profit will com-
mand. The causes which decide the rate of profit have been already
considered. It has been shown that they depend en the proportion
which the supply of capital employed in providing wages bears to the
supply of labour. The rate being given, the amount of the profit
received by any given capitalist must depend, of course, on the amount
of his capital. It follows that, when the rate of profit falls in con-
sequence of an increase of capital without a proportionate increase of
labourers, the situation of the existing capitalists, as a body, cannot
be deteriorated, unless the fall in the rate has been so great as to
overbalance the increase of the amount. Two millions, at five per
cent., would give as large an amount of profit as one million at ten.
At seven and a-half per cent. they would give a much larger. And
such is the tendency of an increase of capital to produce, not indeed
a corresponding, but still a positive increase of population, that we
believe there is no instance on record of the whole amount of profits
. having diminished with an increase of the whole amount of capital.
Totally distinct from the amount of profit is the amount of desir-
able objects which a given amount of profit will purchase. A Chinese
and an :English capitalist, each of whose annual profit will command
the labour of ten families for a year, will enjoy in different degrees
the comfort and conveniences of life. The Englishman will have more
woollen goods and hardware, the Chinese more tea and silk. The
difference depends on the different productiveness of labour in China
and in England in the production of those commodities which are
used by the capitalists in each Country. ]n the command of labour,
and, in the rank in society which that command gives, they are on a
par. We have seen that, as population advances, labour has a ten-
dency to become less efficient in the production of raw produce, and
more productive in manufactures. The same amount of profit there-
fore, will enable the capitalist in a thinly-peopled Country to enjoy
coarse profusion, or among a dense population moderate refinement.
A South American, with an annual income commanding the labour
of one hundred families, would live in a log-house on the skirts of a
forest, and keep, perhaps, one hundred horses. An Englishman with
the same command of labour would live in a well-furnished villa and
keep a chariot and pair. Each would possess sources of enjoyment
totally beyond the reach of the other.
200 WAGES IN DIFFEI_ENT EMPLOYMElqTS.

VAI_IATIONS OF THE _kMOUNTOF WAGES AND THE RATE OF PROFITS IN

DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTSOF LABOUR AND CAPITAL.

In the previous discussion we have assumed the existence of a

certain average rate of Wages and average rate of Profits. We now
propose to consider the influence of some specific causes on the
amount of wages and the rate of profits in Different Employments of
Labour and Capital.
The justly celebrated chapter on this subject in the Wealth of
Nations begins with the following words :--
" The five following are the principal circumstances which, so far
as I have been able to observe, make up for a small pecuniary gain
in some employments, and counterbalance a great one in others. 1.
The agreeableness or disagreeableness of the employments them-
selves. 2. The easiness and cheapness, or the diflicultv and expense,
of learning them. 3. The constancy or inconstancy of employment
in them. 4. The small or great trust which must be reposed in those
who exercise them. 5. The probability or improbability of success
in them." Book I. Ch. X.
As our remarks will be chiefly a commentary on those of Adam
Smith, we shall, as far as we can, follow his arrangement. We shall
begin, therefore, by the influence of agreeableness or disagreeable-
nsss.

1. A_ablenc_.--The act of labouring implies a sacrifice of ease,

and it is chiefly to this sacrifice that our attention is directed when
we speak of wages as the remuneration for labour. But, as we
have already observed, the indolence which generally indisposes to
severe or long-continued bodily exertion is not in all cases the only
feeling which the labourer has to conquer. His employment may he
dangerous, or physically disagreeable, or degrading. In any one of
these cases his wages are the reward not only of the fatigue, but of
the hazard, the discomfort, or the discredit which be has encountered.
Adam Smith, however, has remarked, that the prospect of hazards
from which we can hope to extricate ourselves by courage and address
is not disagreeable, and does not raise the wages of labour in any
employment. " The dangers and hair-breadth escapes of a life of
adventure, instead of disheartenin_ young people, seem f_quently
_o recommend a trade to them. But it is otherwise," he observes,
"with those in which courage and address can be of no avail. In
trades which are known to he very unwholesome the wages of labour
are always remarkably high." _
Unwholcsomeness, indeed, is generally united to other disagreeable
circumstances. Dirt, dust, deleterious atmosphere, exposure to con-

Book I. Ch. X.
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS. 90I

tinned heat or cold, or to sudden transitions from the one to the other,
which are the principal causes of unhealthiness in any business, are
also the principal causes of its being generally disagreeable. Whoa
toil, disease, and discomfort, are all to be encountered, the temptation
must indeed be high. But this union is not universal. The trade of
a house-painter is one of the most agreeable, and one of the most
unwholesome, among ordinary occupations. On the other hand, that
of a butcher, though brutal and disgusting, is eminently healthy.
The wages of each are, we believe, about equal, and considerably
exceed the remuneration for the mere labour undergone, which, in
fact, is in both cases very trifling. But the fear of popular odium,
and, what is always strongest amongst the least educated, the fear of
popular ridicule, as they are amongst the most powerful feelings of
our nature, are the most effectual means by which the wages of an
employment can be increased. To Adam Smith's instance of a public
executioner may be added that of a common informer ; both of whom
are remunerated at a rate quite disproportioned to the quantity of work
which they do. They are paid not so much for encoantering toil as
for being pelted and hissed. The most degrading of all common trades,
perhaps, is that of a beggar; but when pursued as a trade, it is
believed to be a very gainful one.
Such appears to be the influence upon wages of danger, discomfort,
and disgrace. And it may be supposed that any peculiarly agreeable
employment is generally as comparatively _mderpaid as peculiarly
disagreeable ones are overpaid. Adam Smith has accordingly remarked
that in a civilized society hunters and fishers, who follow as a trade
what other people pursue as a pastime, are generally very poor people.
"Fishermen " he observes, " have been poor from the times of
Theoeritus. The natural taste for these employments makes more
people follow them than can live comfortably by them ; and the produce
of their labour, in proportion to its quantity, comes always too cheap
to market to afford any thing but the most scanty subsistence to the
labourers." Hunting, however, can scarcly be said to exist as a
trade in any well-civilized Country. And we doubt the accuracy of
Adam Smith's statement as to fishermen; unless, as perhaps was the
case, he intended to confine them to the small number of anglers and
poachers on rivers, who do, in fact, follow as a trade what other
men enjoy as a pastime. _,Iarino fishery is a business of too much
toil and hardship to be very attractive ; and if any proof, besides the
we]l-fed persons and ample clothing of the men and their families were
required, of its being well paid, it would be found in the fact that the
capital employed in it, which is far from inconsiderable, generally
belongs to the fishermen themselves.
As a general rule, we fear it must be admitted that the occupations
open to those who are not possessed of capital differ only in the degree
in which they are disagreeable. The least disagreeable are man's
002 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS.

primeval occupations, those of a shepherd and a tiller of the ground.

Aud, accordingly, we believe that in every state of society the lowest
wages are those which are paid to agricultural labourers. The eurreut
wages of common agricultural labourers, may, therefore_ in general be
considered as representing the value, at the time and place where they
are paid, of mere bodily labour. If, at the same time and place, we
find the services of any other labourer more highly paid, we may infer
either that this employment is subject to some peculiar disadvantage,
or that, in fact, rent or profit enter into his remuneration.
Adam Smith states that, in point of agreeableness or disagreeable-
ness, there is little or no difference in the greater part of the different
employments of stock, though a great deal in those of labour ; and he
infers, as we have seen, that average profits are more nearly on a level
than average wages. That portion of profit which is simply the
remuneration for abstinence is certainly, at the same time and place,
nearly on a level ; for abstinence, being a negative idea, does not admit
of degrees, excepting in the amount of capital from the unproductive
use of which the capitalist abstains, and the length of time during
which he abstains.
But we cannot admit that the agreeableness or disagreeableness of
the greater part of the different employments of capital is about the
same. Nor would Adam Smith have stated them to be so unless he
had used wages in a wider, and profit in a narrower sense than that
which has been adopted in this Treatise. Wages, in the sense in
which we have used the word, are paid almost exclusively for under-
going bodily labour or bodily inconvenience, and bodily labour is
almost always disagreeable. But the labour of employing capital is
principally mental, and mental exertion is often delightful. We
frequently hear of men who are devoted to their profession or their
business, however generally unattractive. A surgeon once told us
that_ whatever were his income, his utmost happiness would be to
superintend a great military hospital. HMf the miseries of mankind
have arisen from the delight of statesmen in governing, and of generals
in war. Again, the mere labourer receives mere pecuniary wages,
or food, shelter, and clothing, of equal value. The capitalist is often
paid by power or reputation, and sometimes receives the highest of
human rewards, the consciousness that he has been widely and per-
manently useful. And, on the other hand, there are employments,
as for instance the slave-trade, which imply fatigue, hardship, and
danger, public execration, and, if a slave-trader can be supposed to
reflect on the nature of his occupation, self-reproach. It is unnecessary
to prove by a formal induction that, when almost all that renders life
agreeable, or even endurable, is sacrificed to profit, the profit must be
great, or that competition must reduce very low the pecuniary reward
or valuable remuneration of occupations which seem to carry with them
their own reward.
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS. 203

It may not appear obvious why the extra profit of a disagreeable

employment should bear any proportion to the value of the capital
employed in it. It must be remembered that, since the number of
persons possessed of a given capital becomes rapidly smaller as the
amount of the supposed capital is larger, the possessors of any given
amount of capital enjoy a sort of monopoly, which becomes stricter
and stricter as the given amount is larger ; and, secondly, that the
larger a man's capital, and consequently his income, the greater must
be the temptation necessary to induce him to encounter moral or
physical evil in the hope of increasing it. On the other hand, both
the trouble and the inferiority of rank that accompany any trade are
generally in inverse proportion to the capital employed. Where,
indeed, the objection to a trade arises from its moral turpitude, as in
the case of the keeper of a gambling-house, or of any place of still
more shameful resort, its extent will only increase its infamy. But
in the absence of this peculiar objection, the same trade which on a
small scale is mean. is respectable in a large way. and almost dignified
when carried to its greatest extent. The trouble cannot be so com-
pletely got rid of, but, when the capital is large enough to enable the
employment of clerks and junior partners of great knowledge and high
character, it may often be so far reduced as to occupy a small portion
of the principal's daily time. There are at this instant many persons
busily engaged, and even distinguished in politics and literature, who
are also at the head of great banking, brewing, or mercantile esta-
blishments. It is not probable that their occupations in business can
employ much of their time.
The result that might be anticipated from these opposing circum-
stances is, that that part of profit which is the remuneration for the
trouble and other sacrifices, independent of abstinence made by the
capitalist, though it must positively increase in amount, yet generally
bears a smaller proportion to the capital employed as that capital
increases in value. And this anticipation is, we think, confirmed by
observation. There are, we apprehend, few persons employing i_
:England a capital of £100,000, who would not be satisfied with a
profit of less than ten per cent. per annun:. A manufacturer of con-
siderable eminence, with a capital of £40,000, complained to us of the
smallness of his profits, which he estimated at twelve and a half per
cent. About fir'.sen per cent. we believe to be the average that is
expected by men with mercantile capitals between £10,000 and
£20,000. Scarcely any wholesale trade can be carried on with a
capital of less than £10,000. The capitals of less value, therefore,
generally belong to farmers, shopkeepers, and small manufacturers,
who, even when their capital amounts to _£5000 or £6000, expect
twenty per cent., and when it is lower a much larger per eentage.
We have heard that stall fruit-sellers calculate their gains at 2d. in
the shilling, or twenty per cent. per day, or something more than 7000
204 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYME_NTS.

per cent. per annum. This seems, however, almost too low. The
capital employed at any one time seldom exceeds in value 5s., twenty
per cent. on which would only be ls. a-day ; a sum which would
scarcely pay the wages of the mere labour employed. It is, however,
possible that the capital may sometimes be turned more than once in
a day ; and the capitalists in question, if they can be called so, are
generally the old and infirm, whose labour is of little value. The
calculation, therefore, may probably be correct, and we have mentioned
it as the highest apparent rate of profit that we know.

O. FacilitF of learning the B,v, ine_. -'_ Secondly," says Adam

Smith, " the wages of labour vary with the easiness and cheapness,
or the difficulty and expense, of learning the business.
" When any expensive machine is erected, the extraordinary work
to be performed by it before it is worn out, it must be expected, will
replace the capital laid out on it with at least the ordinary profits. A
man educated at the expense of much labour and time may be com-
pared to one of these expensive machines. The work which he learn_
to perform, it must be expected, over and above the usual wages of
common labour, will replace to him the whole expense of his education
with at least the ordinary profits of an equally valuable capital. It
must do this in a reasonable time, regard being had to the very
uncertain duration of human life, in the same manner as to the more
certain duration of the machine. The difference between the wages
of skilled labour and those of common labour is founded on this
principle." Book I. Ch. X.
We agree with the whole of this admirable passage, except that we
think it shows the propriety of rather terming the surplus remuneration
of skilled over common labom" profit than wages. It is an advantage
derived by the skilled labourer ill consequence partly of his own
previous conduct, and partly of that of his parents or friends ;--of the
labour and of the expense which they respectively contributed to his
education. It is profit on a capital, though on that sort of capital
which cannot be made available without the labour of its possessor.
Adam Smith has remarked that, in the liberal professions, this labour
and expense are very inadequately remunerated; and he attributes
the slightness of their remuneration first to the desire of the reputation
which attends upon superior c:cellence in any of them ; secondly, to
the natural confidence which every man has, more or less, not only in
his own abilities, but in his own good fortune ; and thirdly, as far as
literature and the church are concerned, to the number of persons who
are educated for those occupations at the public expense.
The two first causes operate very forcibly. The influence of the
third he has, we think, exaggerated, or, perhaps, its force may have
much diminished since he wrote. In the first place, though our
population has nearly doubled in the interval, the number of provisions
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS- 203

for affording gratuitously the means of a liberal education has not

materially increased. And, secondly, from the change which has
taken place in the style of living at the places of education, and in
many cases from the nominal value of the provisions having remained
unaltered, while money has lost more than half its value, these
provisions now afford much less real assistance to the persons who
obtain them. Adam Smith seems to have supposed that the greater
part of the clergy were educated at the expense of the public, and he
expressly states that few were educated altogether at their own.
But at present there are scarcely any undergraduates at either of our
Universities wholly maintained by a foundation : probably there arc
not twenty who receive fi'om such a source one-half of their expenditure,
and by far the zreater number receive llo pecuniary assistance except
from the relatL-e cheapness of instruction. We say relative cheap-
ness, because the sum of money positively paid for instruction is per-
haps as great at Oxford and Cambridge as at most other Universities;
but the attention bestowed bv the teacher on each individual student
is considerably greater. In the foreign Universities a lecture is a
discourse delivered by the professor; in ours, the College lectures,
which are the prirlcit_al means of instruction, are, iu a great degree,
examinations undergone by the pupils. There can be no comparison
between the labour imposed on the teacher in these two modes of
education. But that which is the laborious one necessarily confines
each tutor to a small number of pupils. If our foundations did not
afford them an income, our tutors must either require a much larger
remuneration from each pupil, or adopt the foreign mode of teaching
by discourses delivered to large assemblies.
The principal cause which fills the avenues to some of the liberal
professions with candidates so numerous as materially to diminish one
another's reward is one which Adam Smith has omitted.
The average expense of providing in the cheapest manner for the
maintenance of a child until it can maintain itself bv ordinary labour
may perhaps amount to about £40. This is double the sum for which
a parish will indemnify the father of a bastard. The parish, however,
speculates on the chances of the chlld:s death. The average expense
of giving to a gentleman's son the edneation which is essential to his
holding his father's rank cannot be estimated at less than £2040.
But neither the labour which tile boy undergoes, nor the expense borne
by his father, is incurred principal})- iu order to obtain future profit.
The boy works under the stimulus of immediate praise or immediate
punishment. It never occurs to the father that it would be cheaper
to have his child nursed in the country at 2s. a-week till he is eight
years old, and then removed to a farm-yard or a cotton-mill; and
that in giving him a more expensive education he is engaging in a
speculation which is likely to be unprofitable. To witness a son's
daily improvement is, with all well-disposed men, or rather with all
 20G WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS.

men, except a few outcasts, one of the greatest sources of immediate

gratification. The expense incurred for that purpose is as much
repaid by immediate enjoyment as that which is incurred to obtain the
most transitory pleasures. It is true that a further object may also
be obtained, but the immediate motive is ample.
But the extra expense and labour thus incurred in some eases
constitute the whole expense and labour of preparation for a liberal
profession, and in all cases constitute the bulk of that expense, and
labour. In the church they constitute the whole of the expense, and
almost all the labour. A graduate of Oxford or Cambridge may have
a very little more to read before he takes orders, but has absolutely
nothing more to pay. What he obtains, therefore, as a clergyman,
after deducting the mere wages of his additional labour, is pure gain.
And when we consider how many are the motives for undergoing that
labour, besides the merely pecuniary ones, we might be tempted t(,
wonder that the pecuniary rewards should remain so high. Three
circumstances keep them up : two by diminishing the number of can-
didates, and the third by raising the fund applicable to their use.
The two former ones are the indelibility of the clerical character, and
the interdiction of clergymen from almost all secular employments,
especially from those which offer the most glittering rewards. Many
men would enter the church if they could combine it with other
occupations, or if they might quit it at pleasure, who refuse to enter
into a path in which it is not permitted to turn back or to diverge.
These are probably the principal causes which tend in this Country to
keep down the number of clergymen. The revenue of the existing
members is kept up by means of the fund set apart by law for their
use, and somewhat equalized by the repeated_ intervention of the
Legislature to raise the remuneration of curates by prohibiting the
incumbent from offering, and the curate from accepting, a stipend as
low as would have beet fixed on mere principles of competition. The
expense of entering the army is probably about equal to that of the
church ; for though about £600 is to be added for the price of the
first commission and for outfit, the difference is about made up by the
early age at which the profession can be begun. The expense of the
navy is much less, and either profession may be entered upon without
further preparatory study. The Legislature has fixed the pay and
other advantages of the army and navy (moderate as they appear to be)
much higher than would have been necessary to keep up the supply
of qualified candidates. The difficulty of obtaining permission to
enter either of them is so notorious, that few persons without con-
siderable interest ever think of them. Yet, notwithstanding the
influence of this feeling in diminishing the number of competitors, the
Admiralty and the Horse Guards are besieged by candidates for first
commissions ten times more numerous than the vacancies.
The same may be said of what are the subjects of almost a distinct
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYME_,TS. 20_'

profession, public o_ces. Small as the emoluments are, if they are

to be considered as repaying the expenses of education, they are
objects of eager competition.
If further proof were wanted that the number of the candidates for
the liberal professions is principally kept up by the feeling which
forces every parent to endeavour to give to his children at least the
education of his own rank rather than by calculation, it may be found
in the abundance of governesses. The expense of giving to a girl the
education which will fit her to be a governess, though not quite equal
to that of educating a boy as a gentleman, is yet very considerable :
no part of it is ever supplied by the public ; and yet that profession
is so overstocked with candidates that the pay scarcely equals that of
a ser)ant.
An expense of nearly £1000 beyond the common expense of a
regular education may be necessary to start a young man as a physi-
cian, and perhaps nearly £1500 as a barrister. The lower branches
of the legal and medical professions are about as expensive as the
church or the army. But no branch of either law or physic admits
of practice till after an apprenticeship of from three to five years, or
of success, without three or four years of diligent study. The effect
of all these causes has been so much to diminish the number of com-
petitors in the medical and legal professions, that we much doubt
whether they are now, as Adam Smith states them to have been in
his time, under-recompensed in point of pecuniary gain. We speak
more doubtfully as to medicine ; but we can say, from the observation
of many years, that his statement that, "if you send your son to study
the taw, it is at least twenty to one if he ever makes such proficiency
as will enable him to live by the business," has no resemblance to the
existing state of things. We have watched the progress of perhaps
a hundred legal students, and, where fair diligence has been employed,
success has been the rule, and failure the exception. Many, indeed,
have not applied fair diligence ; but we have seen much more success
among the idle than failure among the laborious. So far from the
chances being twenty to one against a young lawyer, we should be
inclined to rate them at two to one in his favour.

3. _ontlmttcy of Employmettt.--A third cause of variableness both

in wages and in profits is constancy or inconstancy of employment.
The variations which it occasions are, however, rather apparent than
real. A London porter, employed for an hour, would think himself
!11paid by less than a shilling. A pavior or a hodman, whose labour
is much more severe, seldom receives more than 3d. an hour. But
the pavior can always find a market for his services. At 3d. an hour,
he can at an average earn three shillings a-day, or about £46 a-year.
The porter may be sometimes a day without a job. If his employment
be less regular by three-fourths than that of the parlor, to make his
 208 WAGESIN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS.

annual wages equal, his hourly wages must of course be three times
as high. Adam Smith, indeed, thinks that his annual wages ought
to be higher than the average, to make him some compensation for
those anxious and desponding moments which the thought of so
precarious a situation must sometimes occasion. But this evil is
compensated, and, in most dispositions, more than compensated, by
the diminution of his toil. We believe, after all, that nothing is so
much disliked as steady, regular labour ; and that the opportunities
of idleness afforded by an occupation of irregular employment are so
much more than an equivalent for its anxiety as to reduce the annual
wages of such occupations to below the common average.
In the employment of capital, however, this compensation does not
often exist. The occasional unproductiveness of his capital, generally
speaking, afi%rds no relief to the capitalist. It must, therefore, be
compensated by a surplus profit, when productive, at least enough
to balance its periods of unproductiveness. A house-builder's capital
often lies unproductive ; there are some places in which the majority
of the houses are unoccupied for nine months in the year. Tile
builder's profit during their occupation must be at least four times as
great as if they were regularly inhabited. One of the consequences
of tlm effect el_ irregularity of employment on wages and profits is t.o
_)ccasion many services and commodities to cheapen as the demand for
them increases. A man who can count on employment for four hours
a-day would be forced by competition to sell his services for nearly
half of what he might have asked if he could have reckoned on only
two hours. Prices in a watering-place always fall as the season
becomes longer.

4. Tru_t.--The fourth cause assigned by Adam Smith for the varia-

tion in wages, the small or great Trust which must be reposed in
the workman, appears to be in a great measure included in the second
of his causes, the expense of education. Occasionally, indeed, we see
persons receiving and deserving confidence though brought up under
disadvantageous circumstances. The integrity of such persons must
arise from a peculiarly happy natural disposition, and its reward may
then be considered a species of rent ; but, as a general rule, trust-
worthiness is the result of early moral cultivation, and in that case is
as much to be considered a part of a man's immaterial capital as hi_
prudence or his knowledge.

5. Probabftlily of Succe_.--The last of the causes mentioned by

Adam Smith, as affecting the remuneration of different employments,
is the Probability or Improbability of Success.
Uncertainty of success, in some respects,-resembles inconstancy of
employment. A few examples will show them to be different. The '
legal and medical professions are generally thought to be remarkably
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS. 209

uncertain, but the employment of a successful physician or barrister

is painfully incessant. On the other hand, a man may be morally
sure that in a given oeeupatinn he will have a day's work forty or
fifty times during a year, and that his earnings on those oeeasiolJs will
supply well his annual subsistence. Such an occupation would be
certain, notwithstanding its inconstancy.
Uncertainty of success cannot well affect the wages of common
labour, since no man, unless he be to a certain extent a capitalist,
unless he have a fund for his intermediate support, can devote himself
to an employment m which tile suecess is uncertain. ]3ut its apparent,
and indeed its real effect oil profits, is very eon_iderable.
Perfect knowledge, of course, excludes the idea of chance ; but if
all men had sut1_eient information to enable them to calculate fairly
the chances of success, and were subieet neither to rashness nor to
timidity, it appears clear that even tl_en the average profits of any
employment would be raised by uncertainty of success.
When the sums are equal, to ](,se is obviously a greater evil thah
to gain is a good. If two men, with each a capital of £2000, toss up
for £1000, the gainer augments his fortune by only one-third, and the
loser sacrifices one-half. Laplace calculates the disadvantage at
twenty-six per cent. At an equ_d game, he observes, the loss is
relatively greater than the gain. Suppose a player with a fortune of
100 francs to risk 50 of them at heads and tails, his fortune, after he
has deposited his stake, will be reduced to 87 francs: that is to say,
$7 francs unhazarded would procure him as much happiness as 50
nnhazarded, with 50 more subjected to the chance of being doubled
or lost. Admitting this calculation to be correct, and admitting the
existence of the degree of information and prudence which we have
supposed, no one possessed of £10,000 would venture £5000 with al_
even chance of losinz it, unless he had an eveu chance of g'aining not.
merely £10,000, and an adequate profit on his capital of J65000, bu_
could reckon on a further profit of £1300, as the price for undergoing
the risk.
It is needless to say that men are far from possessing this degree
either of information or of prudence. It is to be observed, however,
that there are two sorts of uncertainty. In some eases the hazard is
essentially connected with the employment itself, and recurs, in about
an equal degree, at every operation. Smuggling, and the manufaetur_
of gunpowder, are instances. Experience and skill may somewhat
diminish the risk; but the best smuggler, and the best maker of
gunpowder, probably each, suffers an average amount of loss. But
there are emvlovments in which success, if once obtained, is permanent.
Such is often the ease in mining. That mining is generally the road
to ruin is notorious in all minina' Countries ; t,ut there are miners who
have never suffered a loss. The same n_r,y be said of the liber_:l
professions. Granting them to be as uncertain a_ Adam Smith
F
210 WAGESIN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS.

believed them to be, the evil to which that uncertainty refers is

experienced only by those who fail. To those who succeed they
afford a revenue eminently safe and regular. Their uncertainty is
personal. It arises fi'om the error to which every mall is subject when
he compares his own qualifications with those of his rivals. If he be
fou'_d on the actual trial inferior, his f_tilure is irretrievable. In the
other alternative his success is as permanent. Where any business
is necessarily and permanently hazardous, the furtunes of any one
individual engaged in it afford a sample from which we mav estimate
the fortunes of all. If only one old farmer could give to us all his
per.-onal experience, we should probably have a tolerably correct
cuneeption of the hazards to which farming is exposed. But, if we
were to estimate the chances of legal or medical success from the
average of ten or twenty selected instances, we should be likely to be
grossly misled. The first sort of uncertainty, therefore, is likely to
be estimated with a much greater approach to correctness than the
second.
Adam Smith believed both to be under-estimated, and, conse-
quently, that the average profits of all hazardous employments are
below the average p,'ufits of safe ones. tlis views are stated with so
much force a,:d ingenuity, that we will extract them at considerable
length.
"The overweening conceit which the greater part of men have of
their own abilities is an ancient evil remarked by the philosophers and
moralists of ail ages. Their absurd presump( lenin their own good
fortune has beet, less taken notice of. It is, however, if possible,
still more universal. There is no man living who, when in tolerable
health and spirits, has not some _,hare of it. The chance of gain is
by every man. more or less, overvalued ; and the chance of loss is by
most men undervalued; and by scarce any man, who is in tolerable
health and spirits, valued at more than it ,s worth.
"That the chance of gain is naturally overvalued we may learn
from the universal success of lotteries. The world neither ever saw,
nor ever will see, a perfectly fair lottery, or one in which the whole
gain compensated the whole loss, because the undertaker could make
nothing by it. In the state lotteries the tickets are really not worth
the price which is paid by the original subscribers, and yet commonly
sell in the market for twenty, thirty, and sometimes forty per cent.
advance. The vain hope of gaining some of tile great prizes is the
sole cause of this demand. Tile soberest people scarce look upon it
as a folly to pay a small sum for the chance of gaining £10,000 or
£20,000, though they know that even that small sum is perhaps
twenty or thirty per cent. more than the chance is worth. In a
lottery in which no prize exceeded £20, though, in other respects, it
approaehed much nearer to a perfectly fair one than the common state
lotteries, there would not be the same demand for tickets. In order
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS. 211

to have a better chance for some of the great prizes, some people
purchase several tickets, and others small shares in a still greater
number. There is not, however, a more certain proposition in Mathe-
matics, than that the more tickets you adventure upon, the more
likely you are to be a loser. Adventure upon all the tickets in the
lottery, and you lose for certain; and the greater the number of your
tickets, the nearer you approach to this certainty.
" That the chance of loss is frequently undervalued, and scarce
ever valued more than it is worth, we may learn from the very
moderate profit of insurers. In order to make insurance either from
fire or sea risk a trade at all, the common premium must be sufficient
to compensate the common losses, to pay the expenses of management.
and to afford such a profit as might have been drawn from an equal
capital employed in any common trade. The person who pays no
more than this evidently pays no more than the real value of the risk,
or the lowest price at which he can reasonably expect to insure it.
But, though many people have made a little money by insurance, very
few have made a great fortune : and from this coz_sideration alone it
seems evident enough that the ordinary balance of profit and loss is
not more advantageous in this than in other common trades, by which
so many people make fortunes. Moderate, however, as the premium
of insurance commonly is, many people despise the risk too much to
care to pay it. Taking the whole kingdom at an average, nineteen
houses in twenty, or rather perhaps ninety-nine in a hundred, are
not insured from fire. Sea risk is more alarming to the greater part
of people, and the proportion of ships insured to those not insured is
much greater. ]_iany sail, however, at all seasons, and even in time
of war, without any insm'ance. This may sometimes, perhaps, be
done without any imprudence. When a great company, or even a
great merchant, has twenty or thirty ships at sea, they may, as it
were, insure one another. The premium saved upon them all tony
more than compensate such losses as they are likely to meet with
in the common course of chalices. The neglect of insurance upon
shipping, however, in the same manner as upon houses, is, in most
cases, the effect of no such nice calculation, but of mere thoughtless
rashness and presumptuous contempt of the ri_k. The ordinary rate
of profit always rises, more or less, with the risk. It does not, how-
ever, seem to rise in proportmn to it, or so as to compensate it com-
pletely. Bankruptcies are most frequent in the most hazardous
trades. The most hazardous of all trades, that of a smuggler,
though, when the adventure succeeds, it is likewise the most profit-
able, is the infallible road to bankruptcy. The presumptuous hope
of success seems to act here as upon all other occasions, and to entice
so many adventurers into those hazardous trades, that their competi-
tion reduces their profit below what is sufficient to compensate the
risk. To compensate it completely, the common rcturns ought, o_r
212 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYME_NT$.

aml above the ordinary profits of stock, not only to make up for all
occasional losses, but to afford a surplus profit to the adventurers of
the same nature with the profits of insurers. But if the common
returns were suMcient for all this, bankruptcies would not be more
frequent in these than in other trades." Book 1. el/. X.
Whether Adam Smith's conclusions be true or false, they certainly
do not fullow from his premises. Bankruptcies might be frequent in
a trade of extraordinary profit. We will suppose ten merchants each
to employ for a year a eapital of £10,000 in a remarkably safe trade,
and ten others to employ equal capitals for the same period in a
hazardous trade; and ten per cent. per annum to be the average rate
of profit in undertakings involving similar trouble. Tile capital of
_]00.t)00 en_o'aged in {he safe trade would, at the end of the year,
be raised to £110,000, but be distributed in the same proportions as
before. If' the capital engaged in the hazardous trade were also, at
the end of the year, to amount to £110,000, it is clear that each
trade would have been equally profitable, although a different distri-
bution of the capital might have ruined some, and made the fortunes
of others, among the merchants engaged in it. Two might have lost,
and two others might have doubled, their whole property. If the capital
in the hazardous trade were found, at the end of the year, to have been
raised from £100,000 to £120,000, it is cle-_r that the hazardous
trade must have been twice as profita},le as the safe one, though the
whole of the advantage might have fallen to two or three or even to
one of the supposed ten merchants, leaving all the others to bank-
ruptcy.
Insurance was a still more unfortunate source of argument ; for all
the premises that it affords lead to a conclusion directly opposed to
Adam Smith's. Insurance is one of the safest of employments. If
its profits be remarkably moderate, their moderation can be accounted
for only by the extra competition which its safety invites. It affords,
therefore, at least one example in favour of the superior profit of
hazardous employments. Nor can it be said that the majority of
persons despise the risk too mueh to secure themselves against it by
paying a moderate premium. So much do they fear the risk that
they are willing to guard against it by paying a most immoderate
premium. The sum received by the insurance office must, as Adam
Smith has remarked, exceed the value of the risk by an amount
sufficient to pay the expenses of management, and afford ordinary
profit. The sum received bythe office on common insurances against
fire is Is. 6d. per £'100; of wi_ich at least 6d. must go to pay
expenses and profit, leaving Is. as the value of the risk. But a
duty is also paid to government by the insured of 3s. per £100;
so that the whole expense of insurance is 4s. 6d. per £100, or
nearly five times the value of the risk. And, even at this extra-
vagant rate, we believe tl,at of good houses not one in a hundred
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT E_IPLOY3IFNTS. 21.3

is uninsured. So little do people despise the risk that, with their

eyes open, they purchase a security against it at nearly five times its
real value.
We suspect the fact to be that the imagination is m_dulv affected
by the prospect eitiler of enormous gain or of enormous loss; and,
consequently, that men are ready to purchase the chance of obtaining
a very great advantage, or the certainty of not suffering a very great
disadvantage, at a price far beyond the value of either contingency.
And this appears to be sufficiently proved by the facts which ha,'e
been stated respecting insurance and lotteries. The English state
lotteries of late times, indeed, afforded much more striking proofs of
men's tendency to o_,er-estimate the chances of extravagant gain than
those which Adam Smith had seen. The tickets were always worth
exaetly £10 a-pieee--£10 for each ticket forming always a sum
equal to the aggregate amount of all the prizes ; tile average price of
a ticket was from £21 to £21 a-piece. Instead of twenty or thirty
per cent. the purchasers paid more than one hundred per cent. more
than the value of their hope, just as, in the ease of insurance, they
pay nearly five hundred per cent. more than the value of their fear.
The purchasers of tickets seem to have considered the relation
between £24 and £'_)0,000, not that between .£24 and the one
two-thousandth chance of getting £20,000. Just as those who
insure their houses compare £2 5s. with £1000 instead of comparing
it with the one two-thousandth chance of losiny_ £1000. Adam
Smith has well remarked, that if the disproportion between the sum
paid and the sum attainable were altered, even though the bargain
were rendered more favourable, the competition for it would diminish.
No one would buy half the tickets in a lottery, even at £12 a ticket ;
he would at once see the absurdity of paying £120,000 fur an even
chance of getting £200,000, though, if the state lottery were now
opened, a folly just twice as great in kind would be committed by
thousands. So if, instead of one in two thousand, which we believe
to be about the present average, one house in ten were annually
burned down, and the annual expense of insurance were £.22 10s. per
cent., insurance would diminish, though the terms would be twice as
favourable as they now are.
Those employments which offer the possibility of a great return for
a small outl%v are of the nature of lotteries; and it may be supposed
that the)" attract competition in proportion not so much to the real
value of the contingency as to the excess of the possible return over
the certain outlay. If that excess be very great, it may be supposed
that the number of competitors in proportion to that of prizes will
reduce so low the value of each man's contingency" as to render such
employments on the whole unprofitable. In this Country the church,
the army, and the bar, are such employments. They offer prizes that
may satisfy to its utmost almost every human desire; and they require,
 214 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTg.

as we have seen, from those who have already received a gentleman's

education, a very moderate further outlay: the church and the army
scarcely any; the bar perhaps :£1500. Under these circumstances,
if the number of barristers were not kept down by the necessity of
years of irksome study, and the emoluments of the church and of the
army and navy kept up by the funds appr,,prlated to their respective
use, we have no doubt that the competition in these professions would
reduce their average profit far below even its present moderate amount.
We often hear proposals for equalizing, or rather for diminishing, the
inequality in ecclesiastical preferments. At first sight it appears a
waste to pay £20,000 a-year to an Archbishop for doing less than is
required from the curate of a populous parish with only £100 a-year.
But if our object were to obtain an expensively educated clergy on
the cheapest terms, that object would prol_ably be best effected, not
by diminishing, but by increasing, the value of the highest prizes.
'_he revenues of all the English Bishoprics put together fall short of
£150,000 a-year. This sum, divided among the ten thousand livings,
would raise the value of each by £15. Can any one believe that such
a change would not diminish the worldly attractions of the church?
Nothing sells so dearly as what is disposed of by a well-constructed
lottery, and if we wis[l to sell salaries dearly, t'hat is, to obtain as
much work and knowledge as possible for as little pay as possible,
the best means is to dazzle the imagination with a few splendid prizes,
and, by magnificently overpaying one or two, to induce thousands to
sell their services at half prie_..
We have been told that it was once proposed at Rome, as the
easiest mode of constructing a vast dome, to raise a mound of earth
of the required shape, and build over it. But the expense of then
removing the earth appeared enormous. On the principle which we
have endeavoured to illustrate it was proposed that in raising the
mound the earth should be irrezularly mixed with coins of gold, silver,
and copper, amounting in the aggregate to a sum equal to about half
the aggregate amount of the wages which it would have cost to
remove it by paid }abourers, and then to allow the populace to remove
it in barrows, without payment. It was supposed that a sufficient
number of persons would offer their services, though, in fact, working,
in the aggregate, at half price.
We have already expressed an opinion that the bar is better paid
than the church, and we attribute this to its being less of a lottery.
The expenditure, as we have seen, is far greater, and the prizes, on
the whole, are smaller. The learned profession which offers the
fewest prizes and requires the largest outlay, that of a schoolmaster,
as it ceases to be a lottery, is by far the best paid. There are pro-
bably few capitals which in the aggregate yield so certain and at the
same time so large a profit.
In some few cases commercial adventures are of the nature of a
 WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS. 915

lottery. Such were the shares which excited lhe stranffe fevers of
cupidity and speculation which marked the years of 1720 and ]$25.
Of the thousands who crowded to buy Chili and Peruvian_ and t_.io la
Plata, and Columbian, and Mexican shares, how man',- carl be sup-
posed not to have ascertained, but to have endeavoured to ascertain,
or even to have thought of ascertaininff, the probability of their
Compal_)"s success ? All they knew was that Real del _]:onte shares.
for which £.70 had been given, were selling for £1200: and they
bought a few shares in ether Companies, because, if the speculation
succeeded, they might get one thousand per cent., and if it failed they
had only lost one or two hundred pounds.
Generally speaking, however, those commercial adventures which
offer a large immediate advantage are more in the nature of ordinary
gambling than of a lottery. The possible loss often equals or
exceeds, and _eneralty bears a large proportion to, the possible gain.
The undue hopes and the undue fears, which we have described as
excited by the pro._pect of enormons gain and enormous loss, may now
be supposed to balance one another, and to leave room for the action
ef Adam Smith's principle, an absurd presmnption in our own good
fortune. If his theory be correct, if every man in tolerable health
and spirits have a tel_dency to miscalculate the chances in his own
favour, it must follow that those speculations, which offer a great
gain at the hazard of a great loss, invite so much competition as to
he. if not positively uni_ro_tahle, at least less advantageous than
ordinary employments. And we believe such to be the case. Mining
and stock-jobbing' are employments of capital which offer splendid
success at the hazard of ruinous failure. The former employment is
notorious not merely as affording less than average profits, but as
affording no aggregate balance of profit at all as productive in the
aggregate of toss. Knowledge, diligence, capital, all the materials of
success, are applied in Cornwall to one of the richest mineral districts
in the world, and yet it is supposed that the aggregate price of the
whole of the copper and tin annually raised in Cornwall is not equal
to the whole of the expense of raising it. A few capitalists, however,
make large fortunes, and their success draws on the rest, generally to
loss_ often to ruin.
Even if speculation in the funds were attended by no expense, it is
mathematically certain that it could in the aggregate afford no profit,
as what is gained by one must be lost by another. But it is carried
on at a very great expense. Every transfer costs a commission of
:2s. 6d. for every £.100 stock. A man who annually buys and
sells stock to the amount of £800,000, and that is far from a large
amount for any habitual speculator, must at an average pay for com-
mission £1001) a-year ; and that £1000 exactly represents the amount
of his annual loss, supposing him to speculate with average success.
On the whole, however, though we attribute something to men's
21_ WAGES IN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENTS.

confidence in their superior good fortune, we attribute much more to

their confidence in their superior ability. A confidence which, if
universal, would, on the wh_Ie, produce as much miscalculation as the
former, but which is not obviou._ly irrational in each parti, zdar
instance, and on that very account is stronger, and more general.
The third and last class of the employments of capital which are
subject to uncertainty comprises those which are just the reverse of a
lottery : those in which the gain is in each instance small, but nearly
certain ; and the loss great, but highly improbable.
If our theory be correct, this remote contingency of great loss must
in general be overvalued, and the capitalist who submits to it must,
in addition to the profit which would content him if his business were
perfectly safe, receive at an average in the first place an extra profit
equal to the risk, and in the second place, a further profit to compen-
sate his anxiety, to compensate the excess of evil occasioned by loss
over the benefit that attends on gain. and a still further profit to
compensate the undue importance which he is likely to attribute to
the chances against him.
:Now this class comprises almost all those employments of capital
which, to distinguish them from those attended by extraordinary risk,
are generally termed safe. A merchant or a manufacturer who
wishes to be safe must in general give up the hope of obtaining great
profit by any single transaction. But no productive employment of
capital can be _erfectly safe. A capitalist may, indeed, lend .his
capital to one who wishes to employ it, on receiving a pledge, and
the pledge may so much exceed in value the sum lent as to make the
loan secure; but the capital itself, if employed, must be risked.
Credit must be given, confidence must be reposed in agents, and
when every precaution has been taken, an extraordinary season, an
unexpected source of supply, a sudden change in foreign or domestic
politics, or a commercial panic, may produce ruin out of the best-
arranged operations. No man in business can be perfectly sure that
in ten :years' time he will not be a bankrupt. If we are right, this
risk of enormous loss, when unbalanced by the hope of enormous
gain, must be compensated by an extra profit of something more than
its value, just as the chance of enormous gain, when not balanced by
the fear of enormous loss. is purchased at more than its value; and
as the latter class of employments gives a smaller, so the former must
give a greater average return than would be afforded by an employ-
ment perfectly safe, if any such there be.
 TRANSFER OF LABOURAND CAPITAL. -°17

INEQUALITIES IN WAGES AND PROFITS OCCASIONED BY THE DIFFICULTY

OF TRANSFERRING CAPITAL AND LABOUR FI_OM ONE E_PLOYMENT TO

ANOTHER.

The inequalities in wages and profits which we have as yet con-

sidered arise from causes inherent in the employments themselves
which have been the subjects of discussion, and would, generally
speaking, exist even if one occupation could at will be exchanged for
another. But great inequalities are found which cannot be accounted
for by any circumstances leading men to prefer one employment to
another, and which therefore continue only in consequence of the
difficulties experienced by the labourers and the capitalists in changing
their employments.
The difiiculty with which labour is transferred f,'om one occupation
to another is the principal evil of a high state of civilization. It
exists in proportion to the division of labour, in a savage state
almost every man is equally fit to exercise, and in fact does exercise,
almost every employment. But in the progress of m_provement two
circumstances combine to render narrower and narrower the field
within which a given individual can be profitably employed. In the
first place the operations in which he is engaged become fewer and
fewer. " In a pin-manufactory," says Adam Smith, "one man
draws out the wire, another straightens it, a third cuts it, a fourth
points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head ; to make
the head requires two or three distinct operations ; to put it on is a
peculiar business ; to whiten the pins is another ; it is even a trade
by itself to put them into the paper ; and the important business of
making a pin is in this manner divided into about eighteen distinct
operations." In a large manufactory the man who is engaged in one
of these operations has little experience in any of the others.
And, in the second place, the skill which the division of labour
gives to each distinct class of artificers generally prevents whatever
peculiar dexterity an individual may have from being of any value in
a business to which he has not been brought up. A workman whoso
specific labour has ceased to be in demand finds every other long-
established employment filled by persons whose time has been devoted
to it from the age at which their organs were still pliable and their
attention fresh.
Mr. Ewart, one of the many intelligent witnesses examined by the
Committee on Artisans and Machinery, is asked :--
"Can you state any facts to prove the inefficiency of even the best
workmen when they are taken out of the immediate line of their daily
business, though in the same trade ?"
He replies, "Yes, I can: I should state particularly the ease of
the clock and watch tool and movement makers in Lancashire ; they
_lS TRANSFER OF LABOURAND CAPITAL

are considered the best workmen ; they use the same sort of tools
that the cotton-machine makers use ; but they are brought up to no
employment but making those clock and watch tools and movements.
When those men come to be employed in making cotton machines, we
find that they have almost as much to learn as if they had never
learnt any working in metal at all. We have found them quite
insufficient to do any ordinary filing and turning." cz
Garnier, in the amusing notes to his translation of Adam Smith,
contrasts the comfort of the lower orders in France with the pauper-
ism of England, and ascribes the difference which he discovers to
artificial restraints on the circulation of labour in England, and the
absence of such restraints in France. " Under a government." he
observes. "which does not interfere with the direction of industry,
it is impossible that a man in health and strength can be without
employment, unless his vices make employment intolerable to him.
Let the workman be allowed to choose the market for his labour, and
you may be sure that he will find one, and more and more certainly
in proportion to the wealth of the Country. The complaint of wan_
of work is the threadbare excuse of the idler who prefers relief to
wages. If he were to search for it, lie would find it as well as his
companions. In France, though our population is one-third more
numerous than that of England, amt the fund for the support of
labour much smaller, the labouring classes are free from want, or
even discomfort." *_
There can be no doubt that we have among our institutions and
our habits much that fetters and misdirects the industry of our
labourers; and that these causes frequently occasion, and always
prolong, the want of eml, loyment to which large portions of our
labourers are frequently exposed. We believe, too, that from many
of these causes France is comparatively free. The monopolies pos-
sessed by towns and by incorporated bodies of artificers, with their
oppressive bye-laws and duties, were swept away by the Revolution.
Much, however, that is productive of evils similar in kind, still
remains. Not long ago the number of butchers in Paris was, by an
ordonnance of police, restricted to four hundred. The most important
of all employments, that of affording education, is a government
monopoly; and the commercial code of France is even worse than
our own. If, therefore, the labouring classes of France neve2: suffer
from want of employment, they do not owe their immunity to a com-
plete, or even a very considerable, freedom from interference. If
their employment be actually more constant than that of our labouring
classes, we believe that they owe that constancy principally to the
inferior extent of their manufactures, and, what is both the cause and
the effect of that inferiority, to a much less subdivision of labour.

l_eloorton Artisansaad Mavhinery,18"24,

p. 251, _ Note °,95.
 FROM ONE EMPLOYMENT TO ANOTIIER. 2]9

Less than one-third of the population of England, and more than two-
thirds of the population of France, are employed in the cultivation of
the soil. We are inclined to think that, notwithstanding this dispro-
portion, the English labouring classes are better fed than the French.
But there is no comparison between their respective enjoyment of
clothing and other manufactures. The greater par_ of the coarser
manufactures are both cheaper and better in England; while the
wages in France, both of manufacturing and agricultural labourers,
are about half what they are with us. " A peasant suffering severely
from rheumatism," says M. Say. (Co_rs C,_qdet, Tome I. p. 46,)
" asked my advice. I l:ecommen_lcd to him a flannel waistcoat next the
skin. He did not kn_w that there was such a thing as flannel. I told
him then to wear under his shirt a cloth waistcoat turned inside-out.
ttow, he asked, am I to get cloth to wear under my shirt, when I have
never been able to afford to wear it above ! And yet he was no worse
off than his neighbours."
The French labourer, being employed in nmre capacities than the
Englishman, has more trades to turn to, and for that very reason is
less efficient at any one. The Russian is probably more seldom out
of employ than the Frenchman, and the Tartar less f_equently than
either. But few principles are more clearly established than that,
ccpteris paribus, the productiveness of labour is in proportion to its
subdivision, and that, c,,tcris p_rib_ta, in proportion to that subdivision
must be the occasional suffering from want of employment. A savage
may be compared to one of his own instruments, to his club, or his
adze, clumsy and inefficient, but vet complete in itself. A civilized
artificer is like a single wheel or_ roller, which, when combined with
many thousand others in an elaborate piece of machinery, contributes
to effects which seem beyond human force and ingenuity, but, alone,
is almost utterly useless.
The difficulty in transferring _natcrial capital from one employment
to another depends principally on the degree in which it has been
manufactured, mid on the change to be made in the disposition of its
parts. The destination of raw material can, in general, be changed
with little inconvenience. The stones that have been collected for a
bridge may easily be employed for a house. :But if they have been
formed into a house, or a bridge, the value of the materials would
scarcely pay the expense of removing them. Those costly instru-
ments which form the principal part of i_xed capital can scarcely ever be
applied in their original state to any but their original purposes. They
are employed, therefore, in the same way, long after they have ceased
to afford average profit on the expense of their construction, because a
still greater loss would be incurred by attempting to use them in a
different manner. It would be a bad speculation to erect a steam-engine
at the cost of £20,000, which should return an annual profit of only
,/_100, but it would be a still worse one to sell it as old iron for £500.
_20 TRA_NSFEROF LABOUR AND CAPITAL

There is a considerable resemblance in this respect between mental

and inanimate capital. Probity, industry, judgment, elementary
knowledge, and the other moral and intellectual habits and acquire-
ments to which we give the general name of a "good education," are
a kind of mentJ1 raw material, of which the destination can be
altered at pleasure. The peculiar knowledge and habits of a given
profession are like a steam-engine or a water-mill, of comparatively
small value for any but their appropriate purposes. In general,
however, mental capital is the more transferable of the two, and
becomes more and more so the more exclusively mental it is. The
professional knowledge and dexterity of a weaver would be of little
use to him in any other employment. A lawyer or a physician,
prevented by circumstances from c_)ntinuing to practise, would find the
information and the intellectual habits which he had acquired in his
former profession of considerable advantag_ iz_any new one. Bodily
labour, especially when the labourer is confined to a very few operations,
so that _ few muscles have too much and the rest too little to d_),
often weakens, and almost always distorts, the frame. Mr. Shaw, a
surgeon of great emilmnce in the treatment of distortion, told us that,
as he walked along the streets, he could in general tell each man's
trade by his characteristic deformity. But mental exertion, unless in
those rare cases in which i_ is carried to such an excess as to produce
cerebral derangement, never seems to weaken the mind. It may
sometimes, perhaps, a little distort it, may sometimes give to one or
two faculties an undue preponderance ; but even this, to such an extent
as to diminish the productiveness of the individual's subsequent
exertions, is comparatively rare. And, in general, it will be found,
that the more work a man's mind has done, the more he is able to do,
and the better he will do it.

DIFFICULTY OF TRANSFERRING LABOUR AND CAPITAL FROM ONE

COUNTRY TO A-NOTHER.

The obstacles which exist, even within the same neighbourhood and
the same Country, to the transfer of labour and capital from one
employment to another, are of course aggravated, when not only the
occupation but the neighbourhood or the Country is to be changed.
Adam Smith states the common price of labour in London and its
neighbourhood to have been, when he wrote, ls. 6d. a-day, and the
usual price in the Lowlands of Scotland to have been 8d. "Such a
difference of prices," he adds, " which it seems is not always sufficient
to transport a man from one parish to another, would necessarily
occasion so great a transportation of the most bulky commodities, not
only from one parish to another but from one end of the kingdom,
Mmost from one end of the world, to another, as would soon reduce
them more nearly to a level. After all that has been said of the levity
 FROM ONE COUNTRYTO ANOTftER. °21

and inconstancy of human nature, it appears evidently from experience,

that a man is, of all sorts of luggage, the most difficult to be trans-
ported." Book I. Ch. VI.
When we compare the wages of labour in different Countries, we
usually estimate them in money. And we are forced to do this for
two reasons : first, because the precious metals are the only important
commodities universally &stributed throughout the world; and,
secondly, because they are the only commodities of wh;ch the value is
every where the same, or very nearly the same. We should gain
little information by eompari_g the numher of pine-apples that can be
earned in Java and in England by a week's ordit,ary labour. And
still less by comparing die quantity of pulque earned by a Mexican
with the quantity of whisky earned by an Irishman. But money
wages, though they measure accurately the value of national labour in
the general market of the world, affurd a very imperfect test of the
degree of comfort and convenience obtained by the labourer in different
Countries. Now it is this difference, not the difference in money
wages, that leads him to change his residence ; and we can ascertain,
or rather approximate to aseertainin_, these differences only by
translatinff the money wa_zes in different Countries into the commodities
used by the lahore'or. The money wages of labour in North America
are about one-third higher than in England ; this is in some measure
compensated by tim higher price of manufactures. But as food, which
every where forms the largest portion of the labourer's expenses, is
considerably cheaper than with us, the real _uperiority of the American
over the English labourer is greater than i_ indicated by the difference
in their wages. We are told (Crawford's Embassy. p. 't(;8) that a
day labourer in Bengal can hardly earn £3 a-year. Notwithstanding
this low rate of wages, most manufactures are dearer there than in
England. Food, of course, is cheaper ; for were it at the same price
as the cheapest food in Enghmd, a family could not exist at about Is.
a-week. And it is obvious that in every Country the average wages
of labour must be sufficient to support an average family. In propor-
tion to the quantity of land and labour required, rice is, perhaps, the
most abundant food that the earth affords. Rice, therefore, is the
food of the Bengallee, and his wages, supposing them to be all laid
out in food, would produce him about eight hundred pounds ; the same
quantity of rice might be purchased here for about £10 sterling.
Estimated in money, therefore, wages in England, at £3n a-year, are
ten times as high as in Bengal ; estimated in mannfaeturcs, they are
more than ten times ; estimated in rice, they are about three times as
high.
In comparing the rate of profits in two Countries, tMs difficulty does
not exist ; both the advances and the returns being always estimated
in money, the apparent must be the real difference between the rate
of profits in an)" two Countries.
22 ° TRANSFER OF LABOURAND CAPITAL

The great obstacles to the circulation of labour are difference of

climate, distance of place, and difference of language. The first is
by far the most powerful, and is so great that there is little voluntary
emigration of labourers to a very dissimilar climate. Difference of
language seems often a greater obstacle than very considerable distance
of place. The advance of wages obtained by an English meehatJic in
France is greater than he can get by going to America ; but ten go
to Americ_r for one who will venture to France. Differences in habits,
government, and religion are comparatively weak obstacles, except in
those cases where the differel_ces h_ve caused an antipathy, making
immigration dangerous. Few Countries differ more in habits and
religiou than England and Ireland, or in government than Ireland and
the United States. Yet we know how great is tim emigration from
Ireland to both those Countries. In general, however, the physical
and moral obstacles to the emigration of single labourers, or even of
bodies of labourers, unless supported and directed by a very consider-.
able capital, are such that it seldom takes place unless under peculiar
circumstances ; such as those of Ireland and England, or Ireland and
America, where the temptation is very great, the physical obstacle
only a passage of a few weeks in the m_e case, and a few hours in the
other, and the language the same.
But the voluntary migrations of capitalists and labourers united,
and the attempts by capitalists to force the involuntary migration of
labourers, have been among the principal causes that have advanced
and retarded the improvement of mankind. To the first class belong
those hostile migrations in which a whole nation, in the hope of
obtaining a climate or a soil more favourable to production, has moved
in a body to seize the territory of a neighbour. From the invasion of
Egypt by the Shepherd Kings to that of' Greece by the Turks, these
movements have kept the inhabitants of the whole of our hemisphere
in a constant fluctuation. Many Countries, and among them our own,
have been so covered by successive strata of occupants, that no trace
of the first settlers can be discovered ; in others, the poor remains of
the abm'igines are discovered, like the Ilelots of Laconia, the Fellahs
of Egypt, or the Bheels of Hindostan, by their misery and degradation.
Europe, in its present state, does not fear these invasions. They
could not be attempted by a civilized nation, nor, in the present state
of the art of war, could they be successful against one. But, until
the improvement of military science and the extensive use of machinery
in war, gave to wealth and knowledge their present superiority, these
attributes seem to have been sources rather of weakness than of
strength. The least polished people seem, on the whole, to have had
the advantage. Cicero confesses the warlike superiority of the Gauls
over the Romans. It was not till after Gaul had become comparatively
civilized that her military fame was recalled as a tradition, a7 A few
_7 GaUos in hello florut sse audivimus.
 FROM ONE COUNTRYTO ANOTIIEP. 223

centuries of peace made the Britons an easy prey to the Saxons, and
the Saxons to the Danes. Under such circumstances the permanent
improvement of the human race seemed almost hopeless. And if
gunpowder had not been brought into use just at the time when those
military virtues which belong to semi-barbarism were decaying, it
appears probable that another irruption of barbarians might have
brought back another middle age, in which :Europe might have lost
all that she gained between the XIIth and the XVth Centuries.
Resembling in kiml these migratory invasions, but very different
from them in effect, have been those emigrations on a smaller scale,
to which we give the name of COI,O_IZATIOX; in which a portion of a
comparatively civilized nation have gone out. with their knowledge
and weahh, their material, and moral, and intellectual capital, and
settled in an unoccupied or thinly peopled district. It is a remarkable
and a most unhappy circumstance that, notwithstanding the progress
of political knowledge, the true principles of Colonization have been
less and less understood, or, if uuderstood, less and less acted on, as
civilization has advanced. The earliest Colonies with wh;.ch we are
acquainted, those founded by the Phtenieians and the Greeks, seem
to have been founded fur the benefit of the Colonists. They were
allowed to appoint their own governors, to direct their own industry,
and to manage their own concerns : and they relied on themselves for
their defence. They were children, but emancipated children; and
their prog'ress was iu proportion to their independence. The Phoe-
nician Colonies in Africa and Syria, and the Grecian Colonies in Italy,
Thrace, Sicily, and Asia, seem quickly to have risen to an equality
with, or to have surpassed, their Mother Countries ; to have obtained,
in fact, all the weahh and power _vhich their extent of territory, and
the religion and knowledge of the times, made it possible to acquire.
The t_oman Colonies scarcely deserve that name. ]'lacy were generally
formed by grants of the lands, the capital, and the persons of conquered
Tribes, almost as civilized as their conquerors, to the armies or to the
populace of Rome, as a reward for services in foreign or civil war,
or for sedition and riot in the Ibrum. It may be a question whether
they accelerated or retarded the improvement of the world.
The Colonies of modern Europe have been established partly for the
benefit of the Colonists, and partly, as it was supposed, for that of the
parent state. The latter has, in general, contributed a part of the
expense of outfit, and almost all the expense of protection against
foreign aggression. She has also, in general, given to her Colonies a
monopoly, or something approaching to a monopoly of her market.
On the other hand, she has, in general, required her Colonies to give
to her own productions a much stricter monopoly. She has, in general,
required her Colonies to receive European productions solely from the
Mother Country, and to export only to the Mother Country colonial
productions. She has, in general, appointed the principal officers,
224 TRANSFER OF LABOURAND CAPITAL

and interfered in the internal management of her Colonies. She has

not only prohibited the Colo:_ists from purchasing in any other market
what could be produced in the Mother Country, but has prohibited
them from producing for themselves. She has peopled them with the
refuse of her gaols, and governed them by the refuse of her aristocracy.
The Court of Spain commanded the vineyards of Mexico to be rooted
up ; the :English Parliament forbade Jamaica to discontinue the slave-
trade, prohibited the establishment of iron, woollen, and hat manu-
factures in our North American Colonies, and even now forbids the
West Indians to refine their own sugar. The Mother Country dragged
the Colonists into all her wars, and, from their comparatively defence-
less situation, exposed their trade to more loss, and their persons and
property to more danger, than she encountered herself. And when
the rising strength of the Colony rendered these oppressions intolerable,
no Mother Country has yet had the good sense to submit quietly to a
separatio;_, which, even if it could have been avoided, might have been
desirable; and which, whether expedient or not, was inevitable.
:England, France, Portugal, and Spain have all wasted, in the vain
attempt to retain their Colonies, ten times more wealth than was
expended in founding them.
But, mismanaged as Colonies have been, they have, without
doubt, been one of the principal means by which civilization has been
diffused.

The separate attempts by independent capitalists to procure the

voluntary :E_tI_RATIO_"of labourers have generally been made on a
small scale, and have been unprofitable to the undertakers, in con-
sequence of the difficulty of compellb,g or inducing the labourers to
perform their engagements, and work diligently at a rate of wages
sufficiently inferior to the current rate ol_'the Colony to repay the
expense and risk of the capitalist. Sir R. Wilmot Horton's plans for
effecting Emigration on an extended scale, and as a national under-
taking, have not received the attention which the magnitude of the
probable advantage, and the unwearied diligence and public spirit of its
proposer, deserved. And the scheme for founding in Australia a Colony
in which the first price of all the land shall be employed in transporting
labourers, has not yet beer, submitted to the test of cxperience.
The attempts by capitalists to force the involuntary migration of
labourers have been productive of almost unmixed evil. They pro-
duced, and have continued, the abominable traffic in which man is the
commodity ;--a traffic which, partly by its direct effects, and partl_
by the wars and general insecurity which are its necessary accompani-
ments, retarded more than any other cause the early civilization of
:Europe ; has kept, and continues to keep, the greater part of Asia,
and the whole of Africa, in hopeless barbarism ; and has divided the
inhabitants of the most fertile portions of the Continent of America,
 FROM ONE COUNTRYTO ANOTHER. 225

and, until lately, those of almost all her islands, into two classes only,
the oppressors and the oppressed.
The transfer of Capital from one Country to another is subject to
less difficulty. When the exchange is at par between any two Coun-
tries, Capital can be transmitted m the shape of money without any
expense. And as the occasional loss which occurs when the exchange
is against the Country to which it is to be exported is compensated by
the occasional gain when it is in favour of that Country, it may fairly
be said that monied Capital is transferred from Country to Country
without expense• The chief obstacle is the unwillingness of Capitalists
either to trust their Capital out of their own superintendence, or to
encounter a change of _overnment habits, climate, and language, by
accompanying it. Difference of"lan_uazo, however, is felt as a slight
objection by educated men. Nor is difference of government of great
importance to those who propose only a transitory residence. The
difference indeed is ofteu considered an advantage. During the late
war, London was filled by foreign Capitahsts, whose principal motive
was to escape the tyranny of Nap.leon. Differences of habits and
climate are more mi_terial, especially the latter; but even those do
not seem to counterbalance a great i_,creaso of profit. There is
scarcely a port in the civilized world in which a considerable part of
the mercantile class does n,t ct,_,s_st t_f the natives of Great Britain.
The inequality in the rate of profit throughout the civilized world is,
therefore, much less than the inequality of wages. And as the
general progiess of in,pr,,_,m_,nt tet_ds more and more to equalize the
advantages possessed h_ d'ff_,'<,,, ,_',mntries in government and habits.
and even m salubrity oI' cb ............. _,_isting inequalities of profits are
likely to dhninish.
 INDEX.

[The Author of the article on POLITICAL ECO_O_ is not accountable f¢r

the contents of this INDEx._EDITOR ENCY° _[EI'.]

Absenteeism, 155 ICapitalandLabour, DifficultyofTrans-

, Considered by M'Cul- t ferring them from one Employment
loch to be immaterial. 1 to another, 217
156 - , Difficulty of Tran_-
----, , Economical Effects, 160
Effects of, 156 ferring
another, them
220 from one (_ountry to
, Its importance exagger- f ----, Average period of Advance of,
ated, 159 194
, Moral Effects, 158 -- , Defined, 60
Abstinence, a Principle of the Produc- -- , Different Modes in which _t
tion58,
-Defined, of Wealth,
89 58 --, may be employed,
Divisible according 6°or the
---from Marriage, 35 Purposes to which it is applicable.
Additional Labour, when employed in into Reproductive, Simply Produc-
Manufactures is _nore,when employed tire, and Unproductive, 66
in Agriculture is less, efficient in --., Fixed and Circulating, 61
proportion, 81 --, -- Estimated Differently
Advance of Capital, 194 by Political Economists:-
Agricultural compared with Manufac- Adam Smith, 6l
turing Industry, 81, 109 Malthus, 64
Agricultural Produce, Effects of In- Mill, 62
creased Demand on the Price of, 119 Ricardo, 62
Agricultural Produce of Great Britain---, one of the Instruments of
more than doubled during the last Production, 59
century, 86 , statement of Advantages de-
, Effect of Taxation on ' rived from the use of, 67
the Price of, 121 ' Capitalists, 88
Agriculture, possible improvements in, Causes of the Productiveness of La-
82 ' bour, 174
Amount of Wages and Price of Labour i • regulating the Rate of Profit,
differ, 149 188
Anarchy worse than Tyranny, 75 -- which limit Population, 3o
Anti-Commercial System, 177 -- which limit Supply, 97
Applications of Capital, 66 Chances, Calculation of, 209
Appropriated Natural Agents, 90 Checks to Population, 31
Artisans and Machinery, Report of the Circulating Capital, 61
Committee on, 144 Circulation of Labour impeded by
difference of climate, distance of
Bankruptcies in hazardous Trades, 211 place, and difference of language, 222
Bill-Broking, business of, 131 Circumstanceswhich decide the average
Bishoprics, Policy of preserving, 214 rate of Wages and average rate of
Books, a commodity very subject to Profits, 141
gluts, 28 _Colonies, Mismanagement of, 224
228 INDEX.

Colonization, 2'2.3 IEmigration insufficient to keep down

Colony, Progress of a, 106 ! Population, 42
Coloured Neckcloth, History of a, 79 Emigration of Labourers, 224
Commercial Speculation, 1S Employments afford different Rates of
Commodities, 51, 170 Wages, according to their Agreeable-
Discriminated from Scr- i ness, Unhealthiness, &c., 200
_'ices, 53, 170 IExchange, 6, 87
Consumption Defined, 53 I___ Laws of, 8S, 95
By Malthus, 53 i Expend ture, superfluous, use of; 40, 42
M'Culloch, 54 p
Say. 53 i Factory Commission, Report of, 151
Consumption, Productiv% and Unpro- !Famine, a check to Population, 32
ductive, 54 '_Fixed Capital, 61
Corn Law, English, 177 IFood, Production of, Rate at which it
Cost of Production, 97 _ is capable of being increased, 31
, its effects on Price, 1tl :Foreign Trade, 76, 168
Cotton Trader increase of, 83 !Fund for Maintenance of Labour, 173
Decencies Defined, 36 i General Desire for Wealth, 27
Demand, Defined, 14, 15 i General Rate of' Profi% 185
Difference between the Amount ofi Gold and Silver, why chosen as Money
Wages and the Price of Labour, 149 or standard Instruments of Ex-
Different effects of Increased Demand change, 97
on the Prices of Manufactured and ' Government, its consumption supplic_
Raw Produce, 119 i by Labour. 182
Different effects of Taxation on the , sul_ject to evils, 75, 1S2
Prices of _Ianufactured and Raw, 1 , utility of a, 74, 87
Produce, 120 _lG at, Partial, 29
Distribution of Wealth,
Division of Labour, 73 87 I--' Universal, 2S
Dependent on the Use of'. High and Low, meaning of the words
Capital, 78 i as applied to Wages, 141
..... Government, an example, 75 Holdsworth on Cotton Spinning Ma-
Evils to which Govern- chinery, 71
ment is subject, 75 I Holidays, number of, in different
---, Retailers a consequence of l Countries, as affecting the Price of
the, 77 _ Labour, 149
, Territorial, (Foreign Trade)il
76 i Implements, use of, 67
, The Post Office, an example, IImportation of Foreign Commodities,
74 i its effects on Wages, 168
Dunlop, remarks on American Ma-_Inequalities in Wages and Profit-
chinery, 7-. ° t occasioned by the Diflicuhy of Trans-
ferring Capital and Labour from one
Education, Expense of, for the Profcs- I Employment to another, 217
sions, 206 Infanticide supposed to be favourable
Effects of Absenteeism, 156 to the Increase of Population, 34
-- -- Foreign Importation, 168 Instruments of Production, 57
--- Increased Demand on Price, Insurancea, 211
119 Jenner, Dr., _ralue of his discovery., 9 [
.... Machine D" on Wages, 162
--- Monopolies on Price, 114 Labour, a primary Instrument of :Pro-
..... the Cost of Production on duction, 57, 88
Price, 111 ---, Causes which divert it from
----- the Unproductive Consump- the Production of Commodities for
tiou of Landlords and Capitalists, 160 the use of Labouring Pamilies, 180
 ISDEX. 229

Labour, Command of, 187 i Manufactures compared with Agricul-

-- Defined, 57 . ture, $1
-- , Difficulty of Transferring it i Marriage, Abstinence from, a check to
from one Employment to: t)opulation, 31, 35
another, 217 EMarsland, power of his Machinery at
and from one Country to' Stockport, 70
another, 220 : Mercantile Theory, 176
.... , Division of. 73 !Mill on the Increase of Population, 44
-- -, Effect of additional, in Mann- _Mines, 90
facturcs and Agriculture Mining_ 209
compared, 81 i Money, Nature of. 96
- - -, Fund for the Maintenance of, LMonopolies, Divided into four kinds.
Causes on which its extent 103
depends, 173 , Effects on Price_ 114
--- -. Productiveness of_174 ..... , Nature of, 103
Labourers_ 88, 89 LMonopoly of Land, 105
Lace, History of a piece of, in its pro- ; Mortahtv in certain Countries, 34
gress from'Tenessee to Bond-Street, Moving i owers, Ancmnt, _0
79 _ , Modern, 70
Land, Labour. and Capital--the three !
Instruments of Production, 59, 88 !Napoleon's Continental System, 177
---, Monopoly of, 105 '1iNatm'al Agents, Appropriated, 90
---, tile prmeipal Appropriated _Na-i , Defined, 58
rural Agent, 90 I , Proprietors of, 88
Landlords, 88, 92 : Nature of Wealth, 6
Laplace on Chances, 209 Necessaries Defined, 36
Life, Average duration of, as affecting _Non-Residence of Landlords, 155
Population, 34
Limitation,
....... incauses of, 97
Supply, one of the con- _:Opening of a new trade generally fol-
stituents of Value, 7 ] lowed by Gluts, .°9
Limits of the Science of Political Eco- i Over'P r°ducti°n, Doctrine of, 28
horny, 2
London. the making of the first Roads Political Economy, Definitions of:--
to, opposed by neighbouring Land- De ha Riviere's 1
lords, 10S M'Cullocb's, 1,
Lotteries, 210, 213 Say's, 1
Luxuries defined_ 36 Sir J. Steuart's, 1
Sismondi's, 1
Machines, Use of, 67 Storch's, 1
Machinery, American, 7"2 Politics. 76
...... , Effects of, on Wages, 162 i Population and Food, human happi-
, Holdsworth's, 71 t ness or misery is dependent on their
.... , Marsland's, 70 i Rclatice Advance, which is under
M'Culloch, Definitions by :-- i human control, 49
Consumption, 53 : Population and Food. relative Increase
E
Political Economy, 1 ! of, 30
M'Culloch, his opinions on Popula- i Maltbus's Opinion, 45
tion, 43 t M'Cunoch's, 43
Malthus, Definitions by :-- Mill's, 42£
Consumption, 53 _,_ i Scrope's, 43
Cost of :Production, 98 !Population, Causes which limit, 30
Malthus, his Principle of Population,45 ; ---, Checks to, Divided by
Manufactured Produce, Price affected i Mr. Malthus into the preventive and
by Increased Demand, 119 : the positive, 31
-, and by Taxation, 120 t --, Rate of Increase, 30
230 INDEX.

Ports, 90 ; Profit, Rate of, Variations in different

Post Office, 74 I employments, 200
Power, Instruments which produce, 70 1Proportionate amount of Rent, 135
Preference of Services to Commodities, i Promiscuous Intercourse, a Cheek to
170 Population, 31, 35
Recommended by Ricardo !Proportionate Amounts of Profit and
to the Labouring Classes, i Wages, 139
171 '/Proprietors of Natural Agent% 88, 89
His reasoning fallacious, 171 i Proximate Cause deciding the Rate of
Price affected by Cost of Production, J Wages, 153
lll I-- Opinions inconsistent with
, Increased Demand, I the given explanation, 159
119 ]Prudence the Preventive Check on
---. Monopolies, 114 i! Population, 36
-- Taxation, 120 i .
of a Manufactured Commodity j Relauve Proportions of Rent, Profit.
diminished with increased p and Wa_es, 128
Production, 84 [Rent, Nature of, 9], 115, 128
of Labour different from the i -- Produced by Labour, 180
Amount of Wages, 149 '_ , Proportionate amount of, Causes
.... , or Value in Money, 96 P on which it depends, 135
Principle of Population, 43 i Reproductive Capital, 66
Produce divided into Wages, Profit iRetailers, Use of, 77
and Rent, 88 i Rieardo, Definitions by :-
Product, 51 i Fixed and Circulating Capital, 63
Production, Cost of; 97 ] Cost of Production, 98
Defined, 101 IRicardo on Rent, 137
:By Malthus, 98 IRisks, Calculation of; 209
-- Mill, 98 ! Rivers, 90
-- Ricardo, 98
-- Torrens, 98 / Say, Definitions by:-
, Instruments of, 57 Consumption, 53
,or the means by which Political Economy, 1
wealth is produced, 50 i Services, 51, 170
Productive and Unproductive Classes ISlavery, '224
(of men), not an accurate [Smith's (Adam) Discrimination of
principle of division, 56 l Fixed and Circulating Capital, 62
-- Capital, 66 i Smuggling, 209
-- Consumption, 54 [ Society divided into three Classes, 88,
Productiveness of Labour, Causes l 128
which affect it, 174 ' Speculations in Commerce, 18
Products divided into Services and[ Standard of Value, 187
Commodities, 51 i Statement of the Four Elementa_-
Professions, Expense of Education for Propositions of the Science of Foli-
the, 206 i tical Economy, 26
Professious, Prospect of Remuneration _Steadiness in Value, on what it de-
in the, 213 / pends, 20
Profit and Wages, :Proportionate Supply Defined, 14, 15
amount of, 139 I_ Limitation in, 7
----_ Average Rate of, 141 [
, Causes regulating the Rate of, Tariffs, 177
188 Taxation, Supported by Labour, 180,
---, General Rate of, 185 182
, How to be estimated, 186 ., Unnecessary, is fraudulent,
--, Influence of, on Wages, 180, 185 182
--, Nature of, 89, 128 Tea Trade_ 76
 INDEX. -')3l

Time of Advance of Capital, 194 IWages Different according to the

Tithes, 124 t circumstance of the Employment or
--, probable effect of their aboli- t Business :--
tiou, 124 F 1. Its Agreeableness, 200
Tools, use of, 67 ! 2. Facility of Learning it, 204
Torrens's (Colonel) definition of Cost i 3. Constancy of Employment, 2_7
of Production, 98 4. Trust, .'208
Trades afford different Rates of Wages, 11 5. Probability of Success, 208
according to their disagreeableness, -, Inequalities in, occasioned by
&c., 200 the difficulty of transferring
Transferableness a quality necessary to Labour from one employ-
give a thing Value, 8 ment to another, 217
Transfer of Capital and Labour from .... , Effects of Absenteeism on,
one Country to another, difficult, 156
220 ..... ,Effects of Foreign Importa-
Transfer of Capital and Labour from tion on, 168
one Employment to another, difficult, ------, Effects of Machinery on, 162
217 --- . Effects of Unproductive Con-
The monopolies possessed by English sumption on, 169
Incorporations often mischievous, ..... , High and Low, meaning of
in this respect, 218 these terms, 141
----, _, Ricardo's opinions,
Unhealthiness of climate or situation, 142
effects on Population, 34 I , -,Place's, 144
United States of America, Increase of t .... ,- ---, M'Culloch's_ 144
Population there, 30, 39, 43, 48 -, Bradbury's, 146
Unproductive Consumption, 54 ---: Rate of, Proximating cause
., Effect on Wages, 169 deciding it, 153
Unproductive or Distributive Capital, ----, Profit and Rent, Difficulty of
66 Discrimination, 128
Use of Capital, 67 War, a Check to Population, 33
Use of Implements, 67 Watch, Progress of the Manulaeture
Utility, 6 of a, 112
Wealth, articles of, divided into
Value Defined, 13 Necessaries, Decencies, and Lnx-
.... of a Commodity, Intrinsic and uries, 36
Extrinsic Causes of, 16 Wealth, Constituents of, 6
--, Standard of, 187 _- , Definition of, 6
--, Steadiness in, 20 --, Defined by Malthus, 25
Variations of the Amount of Wages, , M'Culloch, 23
and the Rate of Profits in different Torrens, 23
]Employments of Capital and Labour, , Ricardo, 22
201 .... , Distribution ofj 87
----, General Desire for, 27
Wages, Amount of, differs _om the -----, Nature of, 6
Price of Labour, 149 ----, Objections to this Definition,
--, , variations in 22
different employments, 200 --, Production of, 50
----2 -- , compared with Whately on the Increase of Fopula-
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